The Snake and the Flower
by Redbayly
Summary: Megan and Bridget Grosvenor never knew what to expect when they accompany their friends, the Carnahans and Rick O'Connell, on an expedition to the Ancient City of Hamunaptra. Slowly, the mystery surrounding their past-lives becomes clearer than they had ever hoped. A 'sister fic' but not like you would expect. Rated T to be safe.
1. The Warning

The Snake and the Flower

**Hi, my name is Redbayly. I usually write fanfictions for Avatar the Last Airbender, but I've decided to do something a little different. This is one of those 'sister fics' but not in the way you would expect. Now, to wrap this up (no pun intended) I do not own The Mummy.**

The Warning

_Thebes. City of the Living. Crown jewel of Pharaoh Seti I. Home of Imhotep, Pharaoh's High-Priest, Keeper of the dead; also the home of two young women who would risk their lives to keep him safe._

_"You shouldn't keep this up, brother." The elder girl said. She was very tall, had long black hair that fell down her back in waves, warm brown eyes, and had a very concerned expression on her face._

_"My Cobra, you worry too much." Her younger brother replied confidently. _

_"I am looking out for our family. If you are caught, and it is learned that Netikerty and I were aware of what has been going on..." She couldn't bring herself to finish what she had been saying._

_"Sister, you do not understand. I love her."_

_"We all have to make sacrifices, Imhotep."_

_Sitre-meramun, for that was the name of the woman, knew as well as anyone what was demanded of her in order to keep those she loved alive. The blue dress she wore reminded her every day of the fact. The eldest of the three siblings turned to the youngest, who had been staring down at the courtyard, observing a young Medjai as he was greeted by the Pharaoh._

_"Netikerty! Will you stop staring off into nothing and give me your assistance?"_

_The younger girl turned at the sound of her sister's voice. Netikerty, though young, was very wise, and very beautiful. She was not as tall as her siblings, and was of a much lighter build, but she was strong. Her raven-black hair was long and straight, but curled slightly at the edges. Her eyes, unlike those of her siblings, were green as the leaves of a papyrus plant. _

_"I believe she is right, brother. Do you even comprehend the danger you are putting all our lives in? We will keep this a secret because you are our brother, and we would do anything for you. But please, stop this before it goes too far. It is already a crime against the gods."_

_"My Lotus Flower, you have nothing to worry about. All will be well."_

_If only their brother had heeded their words. As soon as it was made apparent who it was who murdered the Pharaoh, the two girls were dragged away to be tortured. Simply for the fact that they had known everything but had kept silent. The last time Imhotep ever saw his sisters, the only family he had, they were bound in chains before him as two Medjai guards restrained him. Sitre-meramun had a broken nose that was bleeding profusely, she had horrible bruises all over her tan skin, and a nasty gash over her left eye. Netikerty, once so beautiful and full of life and happiness, was unrecognizable; her soft skin had burns on it, her delicate features had been marred through some barbaric means that those who saw her shuddered to think about, and the worst thing of all was that her hands, that had played such beautiful music that it could make gods weep, had been broken and the fingers reset at odd angles. Imhotep was not the only one appalled by the sight. Princess Nefertiri, who had cared about the two girls as if they were her **own** sisters, had turned away at the sight and was weeping bitterly._

_"You have brought this grief upon your sisters."The head Medjai said in a cold voice. "They will not suffer the fate we have in store for you. But they will die." The Medjai drew out a sword._

_Sitre-meramun looked her brother dead in the eyes._

_"Our blood is on your hands."_

_With that, she and Netikerty were silenced forever. Imhotep then watched as the bodies of his two sisters were thrown into a pit of fire, so they would never be able to exist in the Afterlife. Imhotep knew what was in store for him. The Hom-dai. But, even in his torment, he promised that, should he ever rise again, he would find a way to bring back not only his beloved Anck-sun-amun, but his sisters as well._

**Ah, first chapter done. Dark, isn't it? The names I chose are actual Egyptian names, Sitre-meramun means "Daughter of Re, beloved of Amun" and Netikerty means "She who is excellent".**


	2. An Incident at the Museum

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

An Incident at the Museum

"Evie, be careful." Came the worried voice of the assistant librarian. Megan had seen this happen all too often. The messes that her friend would get herself into. "Really, Evie, just climb down the ladder."

"That would be a waste of time, Meg."

The 25-year-old rolled her eyes as she waited beside the ladder that Evelyn Carnahan had been using to scale a bookshelf to set some books in the appropriate places.

"Evie, why don't you just hand me the book and I'll put it on the correct shelf?"

"No, I've got it." No sooner were the words out of her mouth than the ladder dislodged from the 'S' shelf it had been up against, forcing Evie to try and balance on it like a set of conjoined stilts.

"Ooh, help." Evie muttered. Megan pinched the bridge of her nose, as if saying 'I told you so'.

"Just stay calm, Evie." Megan said as she tried to steady her friend. However, Megan's efforts were all for naught as Evie unintentionally caused the ladder to swerve and crash against one of the bookshelves, leading to a domino effect of disastrous proportions. Megan helped her friend up, and the two looked on in shock. 'Uncle and Bridget are going to have a fit when they see this.' Megan thought.

"Whoops." Evie whispered. Just then, they heard a pained gasp and the sound of something drop. When they turned around, they saw a very distraught curator and Megan's sister Bridget, who had dropped a stack of papers when she saw what Evie had done to the library.

"Look at this." The old curator said angrily. "Sons of the Pharaohs! Give me frogs! Flies! Locusts! Anything but _you_!" He pointed at Evie, knowing instantly that such a thing could only be her fault. "Compared to you the other plagues were a joy."

"I'm so sorry, it was an accident." Evie assured him.

Bridget turned red in the face.

"Evelyn Carnahan. When Ramses destroyed Syria, _that_ was an accident. _You_, are a catastrophe!"

"Just look at my library!" The curator continued. "Why do I put up with you."

Megan crossed her arms and glared at her uncle and her sister, they could both be so short-tempered.

"Well, she can read and write Ancient Egyptian better than anyone. And she can decipher both Hieroglyphics _and_ Hieratic."

Seeing she had reliable back-up, Evie found her own courage to speak up.

"And I am one of the only people within a thousand miles who knows how to properly code and catalogue this library. That's why."

"I put up with you because your father and mother were our finest patrons." The curator retorted. "Allah rest their souls."

"Look, Evelyn," Bridget said, her voice calm but a little shaky, "I don't care how you do it. I don't care how long it takes. Straighten up this disaster!"

The curator nodded in agreement before storming off. Megan tried to quietly slip out the other door, only to have her older sister grab her by the back of her burgundy top. Megan really hated it when her sister did that, it made her feel like she was a child who had misbehaved.

"And where do you think you're going?"

"It wasn't _my_ fault."

"I had a feeling that was the case. But you are still going to help clean up this mess."

As much as Megan loved the library, she hated sorting through stuff. She would be much happier off practicing her music. She let out an annoyed moan.

"And while we're at it, you should dress more appropriately." Bridget was referring to Megan's choice of clothing. Bridget often wore very formal attire, favoring a tan colored, knee-length skirt and matching jacket, and a white blouse that had ruffles on the front. Megan, on the other hand, favored tank-tops and skirts that one might find on a dancer rather than an assistant librarian. Megan just rolled her eyes in exasperation.

"Megan Esther Grosvenor! Don't you roll your eyes at _me_!"

They were interrupted by a noise from one of the exhibits. The three women nervously made their way inside, Evie grabbed a torch as they entered.

"Abdul?" Evie inquired. "Mohammed? Bob?"

They were startled by a thump that came from one of the coffins. They slowly walked over to it, and just as they were about to peer inside, the mummy that occupied the coffin bolted upright. Evie and Megan both gasped for breath, completely shocked, but Bridget was only startled for a moment before she frowned, curling her lips into a disdainful half-pout.

"Get out of the coffin, Jonathan."

The Englishman was in near hysterics at the effect of his little prank as was his accomplice a, little 10-year-old girl in a white, cotton sun-dress.

"Helen Martha Grosvenor! What on Earth do you think you're doing?"

"Oh, take it easy on the kid, Petra." Jonathan said.

"Jonathan, kindly refer to me by my first name, my full name, or even as just Ms. Grosvenor. But will you please not address me by an altered version of my middle name?"

Bridget had many nicknames, most of them given to her by her sister. But 'Petra' was not one she was fond of. Her full name was Bridget Petronilla Grosvenor, and she took great pains to ensure that people remembered that.

Megan, however, had joined in the laughter with her niece and the ne'er-do-well brother of her best friend. Megan knew it was only a harmless jest.

"Honestly, Jonno old boy, do you have no respect for the dead?" Megan asked teasingly.

"Of course I do, Meg. But sometimes I would rather like to join them."

Evie started to pull her brother out of the coffin, once Bridget had removed her daughter.

"Well I wish you would do it sooner rather than later before you ruin our careers the way you ruined yours, now get out."

"My dear, sweet, baby sister," Jonathan replied as the women helped him clamber out of the stone coffin, "I'll have you know, that at this precise moment my career's on a high-note."

"High-note? Ha. Oh Jonathan, please, I don't have time for this. I've just had a slight incident in the library," Bridget gave her a glare, "and the Bembridge Scholars have rejected my application again. They said I don't have enough experience in the field."

Jonathan sat down by his sister, giving her an affectionate hug.

"You'll always have me, old mum." They both chuckled.

"Besides," Helen spoke up, "he has just the thing to cheer you up."

"That's right." Jonathan responded, leaping up and poking around in the coffin he and the 10-year-old had been hiding in.

"Oh no, Jonathan. Not another worthless trinket. If we have to take one more piece of junk to the curator to try and...sell for you." Evie sort of mumbled the last few words when she saw what her brother was handing her. The other women's eyes went wide.

"Jonathan, where did you get that?" Bridget asked, intrigued. Being a historian, Bridget was fascinated by anything and everything that was an authentic relic of the past.

"On a dig down in..uh..Thebes." The two sisters exchanged skeptical looks, but said nothing. "My whole life I've never found anything, Evie, please tell me I found something."

As Evie fumbled with the little puzzle-box, she pressed a button causing it to open into a sun-like shape. Evie then pulled a small piece of folded paper out of the box.

"Jonathan."

"Yes?"

"I think you found something."

* * *

"You see the cartouche there?" Evie said to the curator as she pointed to the spot on the map that had been found in the little box. "It's the official royal seal of Seti I, I'm sure of it."

"Perhaps." The curator responded.

"It _is_, Uncle." Bridget confirmed. She never usually got so excited about something. Megan hadn't seen her sister so eager since she got married to Ali. It had been such a tragedy when he was killed that Megan was sure her sister would never smile again. "I'm positive."

"Two questions." Jonathan spoke up. "Who the hell was Seti I, _and_ was he rich?"

Megan rolled her eyes, so like Jonno to only be interested in money.

"He was the second Pharaoh of the 19th Dynasty." Bridget answered.

"Said to be the wealthiest of them all." Megan added.

"Good, good. I like this fellow. I like him very much." Jonathan concluded.

"Uncle," Bridget continued, "I've analyzed this map, and it is at least three-thousand years old."

"And if you look at the Hieratic just here," Evie stated, "it's Hamunaptra."

"Come now, don't be ridiculous, girls." The curator said with skepticism. "We're _scholars_ not treasure-hunters. Hamunaptra is a myth, told by ancient Arab storytellers to amuse tourists."

"Are we talking about **the** Hamunaptra?" Jonathan inquired.

"Yes," Evie answered excitedly, "the City of the Dead, where the earliest Pharaohs were said to have hidden the wealth of Egypt."

"Yes, and a **big**, underground treasure-chamber."

The curator gave a skeptical "Heh".

"Oh, come on. Everybody knows this story. The entire necropolis was said to disappear at the Pharaoh's command, at the flip of a switch, and the whole temple would disappear beneath the sand dunes. Taking the treasure with it."

"As the Americans would say, it's all fairytales and ho-" The curator started, only to be cut off when the map caught fire as he was holding it up to the lamp to see it better. Or, at least, that's what they assumed. "Oh my goodness!"

The others quickly made an attempt to put out the fire. When Bridget picked it up and examined it, she saw that quite a bit of damage had been done.

"Uncle Terrance, you burnt it. You burnt off the part with the lost city." Megan complained.

"It's for the best, I'm sure." The curator explained. "Many men have wasted their lives on the foolish pursuit of Hamunaptra. No one's ever found it. Most have never returned."


	3. Old Friends and New

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy. Oh, incidentally, in the last chapter I named the little girl Helen Martha Grosvenor as a shout-out to the old mummy movies. Helen Grosvenor was the name of the name of the female lead in the original mummy movie, with Boris Karloff as Imhotep, and Martha is a reference to Marta Solvani the female lead in The Mummy's Hand, starring a mummy named Kharis.**

Old Friends and New

"Come, come!" Shouted the warden. "Step over the threshold. Welcome to Cairo Prison, my humble home."

As the warden led them to the cell, Evie and Bridget were giving Jonathan a stern lecture.

"You told us that you found it on a dig down in Thebes." Evie stated angrily.

"Yes, well, I was mistaken." Jonathan replied.

"You lied to us." Bridget added.

"I lie to _everyone_. What makes you lot so special?"

"I am your sister." Evie pointed out.

"Yes, well that just means you're more gullible."

"I'm the niece of your sister's boss, and the one who pays rent on your apartment." Bridget pointed out.

"Alright, that makes _you_ special."

"Jonathan, you stole it from a drunk at the local Kasbah."

"Picked his pocket, actually."

As the two women continued to berate the man, Megan pulled them forward.

"What _exactly_ is this man in prison for?" Megan asked, the other three snapped their heads to attention.

"Now this, I did not know." The warden replied. "But, when I heard you were coming, I asked him that myself."

"And what did he say?" Bridget asked.

"He said, he was just looking for a good time."

At that moment, the guards dragged in a very grubby, smelly, and irritated man.

"This is the man that you stole it from?" Bridget inquired of Jonathan.

"Yes, now if we could just.."

"Rick?" Megan said in disbelief.

"Megs?" Rick's eyes widened in shock.

"Richard O'Connell." Came the angry voice of Bridget.

"Oh crap." Rick rolled his eyes despairingly.

"What on Earth have you gotten yourself into this time? Wait, don't tell me. I don't want to know."

"Nice to see you too, Bridge."

Bridget gave her signature half-pout half-scowl.

"So," Rick looked over at Evie and Jonathan, "who's he? And who's the broad?"

"Broad?" Evie repeated, slightly irked.

"Ah, yes," Jonathan spoke up, "I'm just a sort of local missionary chap, spreading the Good Word and all, and this is my sister Evie."

"How do you do?" Evie said politely.

"Oh well, I guess she's not a total loss."

"I beg your pardon."

Just then the warden started shouting at someone in Arabic, and told them he would be back in a moment.

"We..uh..we found your puzzle-box, and we've come to ask you about it." Evie explained.

"No."

"No?"

"No. You came to ask me about Hamunaptra."

"How do you know the box pertains to Hamunaptra?"

"Because that's where I was when I found it. I was _there_."

"Oh, Rick," Megan smiled and shook her head, "not _that_ story again."

"Yeah," Jonathan approached the cell, "how do we know that's not a lot of pig swallow?"

"Hey...don't I know you?" Rick asked. Megan and Bridget started to whisper to Jonathan to get out of reach.

"No, no, no. I've just got one of those faces-"

Recognition flashed across Rick's face and he punched Jonathan, earning him a beating from one of his guards. As Megan stooped down to help Jonathan back up, Bridget shot Rick an irritated look.

"Richard O'Connell, how many times have I told you not to use violence to solve your problems?"

Rick started to count off in his head all the times, as Evie stepped over her brother, who was still on the ground rubbing his jaw.

"You were actually **at** Hamunaptra?"

Rick smiled. "Yeah, I was there."

"You swear?"

"Every damn day."

"It's a habit I have yet to get him to stop." Bridget said.

"That's not what I meant." Evie continued.

"Yeah, I know what you meant. Seti's place. City of the dead."

"Could you tell me how to get there?" Evie leaned in a little closer, bringing her hat down next to her face to give a little more privacy. "I mean, the exact location."

"You wanna know?"

"Yes."

"You really wanna know?"

"Yes."

Megan and Bridget both knew what was coming, because they knew Rick. Rick motioned for Evie to move closer, when she did her grabbed her chin and kissed her.

"Then get me the hell outta here."

The guards started to beat him and drag him off.

"Do it, lady!"

Once the guards led him away, the others noticed that the warden had returned.

"Where are they taking him?" Megan asked worriedly.

"To be hanged." The warden replied. "Apparently, he had a **very** good time."

* * *

Bridget, Megan, and Jonathan all waited around outside the prison. Hoping that Evie would be able to get O'Connell out of his situation. Megan and Bridget were the most concerned.

"It's going to be alright." Bridget assured her sister. "Richard has gotten out of worse than this."

Megan was really upset. She and Rick had always been best friends, and she hated the idea that he might not live to see nightfall.

"So..uh..how do you two know him?" Jonathan inquired.

"We became friends with Rick while he was in an orphanage, here in Cairo." Megan explained. "He's like a brother to us, and if anything happens to him..."

"Nothing's going to happen to him." Bridget said. "Richard will be fine. Evie will take care of it."

"And that's supposed to make me feel better? As long as she doesn't do as stellar a job on this as she did to Uncle's library."

Bridget winced, the memory of the library still fresh in her mind. Inside the prison they could hear the sounds of shouting. Both girls were fluent in a good number of languages, including Arabic, and they understood what was being shouted. Megan placed her head in her hands and started to cry, Bridget rubbed her shoulders affectionately. Suddenly, the sound of the shouting changed. Both girls sat up at what the men in the prison were shouting now.

"What is it?" Asked Jonathan.

The two sisters smiled and hugged each other.

"He's safe." Megan said happily.

When Evie emerged, with the newly-freed Richard O'Connell in tow, the two women ran over. Not even caring how smelly and dirty he was, they threw their arms around Rick in a hug.

"I missed you guys too." Rick said.

"Richard," Bridget said sternly, "we are getting you back to the apartment, and you are going to get cleaned up." Bridget turned to Evie and Jonathan. "We'll see you two at the docks tomorrow. Don't worry, everything will be all set up."

* * *

Back at the apartment that the Grosvenor girls owned at the British fort, an intrepid young American was getting cleaned up after his stay at Cairo Prison.

"Honestly, what did you do to yourself?" Bridget mumbled as she cut Rick's hair.

"You really want to know?" Rick asked with his cocky grin.

"Don't even think of trying that one on me, Richard."

Helen was absolutely ecstatic that 'Uncle Rick' was back. She kept asking him about his adventures, and the adventure they we all going on tomorrow.

"What do you mean 'we'?" Bridget asked her daughter. "You're staying here, Helen."

"But Mum."

"No buts."

"Come on, Petra." Megan said with amusement at her sister. "Let the kid tag along."

"Stop calling me Petra."

"Fine. I won't call you Petra if you let Helen come."

Bridget gave her sister a serious look.

"Convince Jonathan not to do it as well and you've got a deal." The thing about Bridget was that she was very fond of any kind of deal. Bartering, bargaining, betting, the list was endless.

"The old place looks just like I remember." Rick said. "Except, someone's missing. Where's Ali?"

Bridget tensed.

"Uh..Rick.."Megan said nervously. "Ali, is no longer...with us."

"Oh, Bridge. I'm so sorry."

Bridget shook her head.

"It's fine." She said with a forced smile. The others looked at her skeptically. "I'm fine. No one needs to worry about me."

Typical Bridget, always looking out for her friends and family before herself.

"Now, everyone, off to bed. Busy day tomorrow."


	4. A Complete Scoundrel?

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

A Complete Scoundrel?

As the two women, the little girl, and the dashing American made their way over to where Evie and Jonathan were waiting, they caught a snippet of their conversation.

"Well, personally, I think he's filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. I don't like him one bit."

"Anyone **we** know?" Rick asked.

Evie turned around and gawked at the clean-shaven Rick O'Connell. Bridget and Megan beamed, knowing that their work was so obviously appreciated.

"Oh..uh..hello." Evie said nervously.

"Smashing day for the start of an adventure, eh, O'Connell?" Jonathan asked, as he patted Rick on the shoulder.

"Yeah, yeah, smashing." Rick checked his pocket to make sure his wallet was still there.

"Oh no," Jonathan protested, "I'd never steal from a partner, partner."

"He tried that once," Megan said, "did not turn out so well. But he's learned his lesson."

"Mr. O'Connell," Evie addressed Rick, "can you look me in the eye and guarantee me that this isn't some sort of a..a flim-flam. Because, if it is, I am warning you-"

"You're warning me? Lady, let me put it this way. My whole damn garrison believed in this so much that, without orders, they marched halfway across Libya and into Egypt to find that city. And when we got there, all we found was sand and blood." Evie looked shocked. "Let me get your bags."

Rick took Evie's bags for her, and marched up the gangplank and onto the barge.

"Yes indeed, Evie." Megan said slyly. "Filthy, rude, a complete scoundrel. Nothing to like about him at all, I dare say."

Evie gave a little smile and rolled her eyes.

"Bright, good morning to all." Came a voice behind them. They all turned to see the warden.

"What the bloody hell are **you** doing here?" Megan demanded.

"Megan, language." Bridget said.

"I am here to protect an investment, thank you very much." The warden said, then went up the gangplank himself.

"Evelyn," Bridget turned to her friend, "is there something you forgot to mention?"

Evie smiled sheepishly.

* * *

That night, as the barge made its way steadily down the river, two sisters found very different ways to occupy themselves. Megan was staring off at the night sky, fantasizing about things from long ago, a mysterious man who had won her heart though she had no idea who he was. Meanwhile, her older sister had taken note of a card game nearby.

"Hello, boys, mind if I join?"

"Hey there, little lady," one of the men said with a flirtatious grin, "we don't want to be takin' yer money now."

Jonathan looked up, and saw the one person in the world who could save him from losing every cent he had.

"Bridget, please join we could always use another player."

The other men all looked at him strangely.

"Thank you, Jonathan. And would you be so kind as to get me a sherry?"

Jonathan leapt up, he knew he wouldn't get her help for free. Bridget reached into her pocket and pulled out a glasses case, from which she withdrew a pair of gold spectacles. Bridget had the great misfortune of needing glasses to read, luckily it was only for reading and everything else was fine. She picked up her cards, and the game began.

"So, little lady, what's yer name?" The same American who had spoken to her before, whose name she learned was Henderson, asked.

"Bridget Grosvenor."

"You don't look much like a 'Bridget'." Another American, named Daniels, stated.

"My father was an English journalist, Henry Grosvenor, and my mother was an Egyptian. My sister and I both get our looks from her side." Bridget glanced up to see said sister. "Megan!"

Megan was shaken from her thoughts, and turned to look at her sister.

"Yes, Bridge?"

Bridget gestured with her eyes over to Megan's violin case. Megan smiled, delighted at a chance to perform. Megan pulled out her beloved violin and began to play her favorite tune, "The Dance of the Swans" from Tchaikovsky's Swan Lake. Everyone within earshot stopped to listen to the beautiful, haunting tune, completely enthralled by the skilled musician. When Megan finished, she was greeted by thunderous applause, to which she gave a humble bow.

"Damn," said Henderson, "that girl can play.

"Yes," Bridget agreed, "she sure can."

As the card game progressed, it soon became apparent that Bridget "Bridge shark" (as she had once, affectionately, been dubbed) was unbeatable. No matter what play they made, Bridget always came out on top.

"So, where are you boys headed?" Megan, who had come over to sit by her sister and the cute boys, asked.

"Hamunaptra." The third American, a man named Burns, answered.

"Oh, same as us." Said Jonathan, earning him a glare from Bridget, and a kick under the table from Megan.

After Bridget hand won yet another hand, the three Americans were getting really annoyed.

"Damn it, woman, how do you do that?" Henderson asked.

Bridget just gave a sweet little smile. Just then, Rick walked by.

"Oh, O'Connell." Jonathan accosted him. "Please sit, the more the merrier."

"Nah, I only gamble with my life, never my money." Rick replied.

Bridget and Megan exchanged looks. Then, out of nowhere, a little girl in a white, cotton sun-dress popped up.

"Mum, look what I found." Helen said, holding up what looked like a knife. Bridget paled.

"Helen, go put that back where you found it."

"Why can't I just tell you where I found it?"

"Helen."

The little girl pouted, then ran off to return the dagger to its original location.

"Walk, don't run!" Bridget called after her.

"Cute kid." Burns said.

"Yes she is."

"Anyway, O'Connell." Daniels spoke up. "What do you say we bet you 500 dollars that we get to Hamunaptra before you."

"You're looking for Hamunaptra?" Rick inquired with a raised eyebrow.

"Damn straight we are." Henderson confirmed.

"And who says _we _are?"

"He does." Everyone said while pointing at Jonathan, who laughed nervously.

"Well, how 'bout it?" Daniels continued. "Is it a bet?"

"Alright, you're on."

"What makes you so confident?" Asked a man who was sitting in one corner. Neither Bridget nor Megan had noticed him up until that point.

"Well, what makes _you_?" Rick retorted, causing Megan to snigger.

"Well, we got us a man who's actually been there." Henderson answered.

"Well, what a coincidence because O'Connell-" Jonathan started, only to be silenced when Rick 'accidentally' bumped him with his duffel bag and Megan 'accidentally' kicked him under the table again. "Who's play is it? Is it _my_ play? I'll just.."

"Gentlemen, we got us a wager." Rick placed a hand on Jonathan's shoulder and squeezed it. Hard. "Jonathan."

"Yeah, 'night." The unfortunate Englishman replied.

"Well, gents, I think I'm done for the evening." Bridget said. She collected her winnings and departed. As she left, Megan took another look at the man whom they hadn't noticed until he asked Rick why he was so confident he would win the bet.

"Hey, I know you." Megan stated. "You're Dr. Allen Chamberlain, aren't you?"

"Indeed, I am, young lady." He replied, Megan could just hear the proud sneer in his voice.

"My sister and I have read some of your books. We found them to be quite fascinating."

"How nice."

"However, we noticed several errors in your observations."

"I beg your pardon?"

The Americans started to snicker at the sight of the haughty Egyptologist being spoken to like that, and by a girl. Megan then began to list off the inaccuracies in several of the man's works, giving evidence to support her statements, and leaving the poor man completely slack-jawed.

Meanwhile, on a different part of the barge, Bridget walked in on the tail-end of a conversation between Evie and Rick.

"By the way, why did you kiss me?" Evie asked.

"I was about to be hanged, it seemed like a good idea at the time."

Evie gave a huff and stormed out offended. 'Typical men' thought Bridget.

"What? What'd I say?"

"Yet another _brilliant _comment from the great Richard O'Connell." Bridget said mockingly.

"How long were you standing there?"

"Long enough. Honestly, Richard, that is one of the worst things you could say to a girl."

"How so?"

"Telling a girl that the only reason you kissed her was because of a life-or-death situation is the same as saying 'Yeah, I was gonna die, and you were there. And I needed _some_ form of action before I went.' Of course, this wouldn't be the first time you've mortally offended a woman, and I doubt it will be the last."

Just then, they heard a snicker. They both saw a shadow behind some crates. Stealthily, Rick snuck over to the crates and grabbed the person behind them, pinning him to the wall.

"What a surprise, my good friend, you're alive. I was so very, very worried." Beni then looked over and saw yet another familiar face. "And Mrs. Hakim. You look lovely as ever."

Bridget narrowed her eyes in anger.

"It's Ms. Grosvenor again, thanks to you."

"So, our little buddy Beni, huh?" Rick questioned.

"Kill him, please."

"I thought you were against violence?"

"For him, I'll make an exception."

Rick raised his gun to Beni's head.

"Think of my children!" Beni protested.

"You don't have any children, you weasel." Bridget stated.

"Someday I might." He replied, throwing a lecherous grin at Bridget, causing her to gag in revulsion.

"Shut up!" Rick shouted. "So you're the one who's leading the Americans. I might of known. So what's the scam, Beni, you take 'em out into the middle of the desert, and then ya leave 'em to rot?"

"Unfortunately no. These Americans are smart. They pay me only half now, and half when I get them back to Cairo, so this time I must go all the way." Rick lowered his gun, and loosened his grip on Beni. "You never believed in Hamunaptra, O'Connell. Why are you going back?"

Rick gestured over to a certain person who was standing by the camels.

"You see that girl? She saved my neck."

When Evie saw that Rick was looking at her she walked off.

"You always did have more balls than brains." Beni stated, then started to chuckle. Rick and Bridget joined in too, slowly walking Beni over to the side of the ship, where Rick proceeded to toss the annoying worm overboard with a "Goodbye Beni."

Bridget then looked down on the deck, and noticed a series of wet footprints.

"Hey, Richard, that little toad is still in the water, right?"

When they looked up, their eyes met in a look of pure panic.

Bridget ran as fast as she could to her room, praying to anyone who would listen that her daughter was safe. Helen meant the world to her. So, when Bridget got to the room and saw her daughter safe and sound, she breathed a sigh of relief.

"Mum, what's going on?"

"Helen, get my bag, and stay close."

The little girl grabbed the greenish-brown duffel, and handed it to her mother. Bridget then pulled out a revolver, and Helen gaped.

"Mum, I thought you hated weapons."

"I do. But now is not a time for questions."

Bridget threw the duffel over her left shoulder, and held the gun in her right hand. Helen stayed right beside her mother as they made their way onto the deck where the fighting was going on. Helen was terrified at the sight of the men in the black outfits who were attacking the barge; but her mother, though scared, refused to show it, firing off shots at any of the men who got too close to her and Helen or any of the boat passengers. Bridget was not at all surprised to see the Americans were having the time of their lives shooting at the masked men in black; but what did surprise her was the fact that Megan was fighting hand-to-hand with at least three of the men, occasionally hitting them in the head with her violin case. After Megan had beaten the three men who had attacked her to bloody pulps, she rushed over to her sister and niece.

"Having fun?" Bridget shouted with the faintest hint of humor and whole lot of irritation.

"It's good to be back! Where the bloody hell are the others?" Megan shouted in response.

As though she had said the magic words, Evie and Rick appeared. When they had all gotten to the edge of the boat, Rick turned to Evie.

"Can you swim?" He shouted.

"Of course I can swim if the occasion calls for it!" She shouted back.

Rick then nodded to the two other women, who lifted Evie up by either arm.

"Trust us, Evie!" Megan said. "It calls for it!"

As they hurled their friend overboard, they couldn't help but have a strange sense of Déjà vu. Like, they had done such a thing to Evie before, but neither could remember when.

"Megan!" Bridget shouted to her sister. "Take Helen and get to shore!"

She handed the 10-year-old to Megan, who lifted the child up in her arms, slid over the railing and leapt into the water. Bridget and Rick were reloading their guns when the warden came running over.

"O'Connell! Ms. Grosvenor! What are we going to do? What are we going to do?"

"Wait here." Rick replied. "We'll go get help."

"Right!"

As Rick and Bridget left, the warden realized what just happened, then yelled as he jumped overboard.

Rick and Bridget were shooting at anything in black clothes and masks. Just then they saw Jonathan emerge. He looked at the Americans and shook his head, and said "Americans." Suddenly, a man who was on fire came at him, only to be shot by Henderson.

"I say," Jonathan addressed the Americans and the Egyptologist who was hiding behind them, "bloody good show, chaps. And did I panic?" He tossed a small object up in the air only to catch it once again. "I think not."

A wall of fire suddenly toppled near him, and Bridget grabbed him by the back of his coat and pulled him out of harm's way, and proceeded to hurl him overboard, ordering him to swim for it. Rick then helped her up onto the railing.

"Just like old times, huh?" He said with a smile.

Bridget gave him 'that look' and jumped into the water. Rick following right behind her.

* * *

They all managed to stumble onto the shore, soaking wet and very shaken up. Megan helped her sister who was struggling to walk due to her heavy clothes. Bridget hugged her daughter, letting out a relieved breath she hadn't realized she'd been holding in.

"We've lost everything!" Evie complained. "All the tools! All the equipment! All my clothes!"

They were interrupted by a shout across the river.

"O'Connell! Hey! O'Connell!" Everyone looked up to see that wretched little stinker Beni. "It looks to me like I've got all the horses!"

"Hey, Beni!" Rick shouted back. "It looks to me like you're on the wrong side of the river!"

Beni gave a short laugh before Rick's words sunk in, and he looked around and raged.

"We should get moving." Bridget stated.

"Bridget," Evie said, "what got into you on that barge? You _hate_ violence and disorder, and yet you were shooting everything that moved."

Bridget rubbed the back of her neck nervously.

"There are things about my life I would rather not discuss, Evelyn."

Megan rubbed her sister's arm. The two of them had this thing where they would trade off on who would be the one to comfort the other, it wasn't a flawless system but it functioned.

So the group headed off into the night.

**Yes, yet another chapter finished. Just so you know, I'm repeating most of this from memory. Also, Bridget's married name 'Hakim' is Arabic for 'learned, or wise'. The song that Megan played is one that was used for the opening credits of the original Mummy movie (As well as the 1930s Dracula and Murders in the Rue Morgue). Sorry if I made it seem like Bridget had a personality shift, but that will be explained later. Goodnight. **


	5. Desert Folk

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

Desert Folk

Bridget managed to lead the other ladies to a tent where some Bedouin women gladly helped them all find some new clothes. The women largely fussed over Helen, telling Bridget, who understood their language, what an adorable child Helen was. Often, Bedouins, and large number of other desert people, do not take kindly to outsiders, but when they saw the three women and little girl they recognized fellow people of desert blood. As they made their way over to where the boys had been purchasing the camels, they heard what they were saying.

"We probably could've got 'em for free. All we'd had to do was give him your sister or the Grosvenors." Said Rick.

"Yes. Awfully tempting, wasn't it." Jonathan responded.

That was when they noticed the women. Evie had changed into a tight-fitting, black, Bedouin dress, with a fancy beaded veil. Bridget and Megan wore similar ones; only Megan's was a rich green, to match her eyes, and Bridget's was a deep blue. Helen was dressed in a smaller version of her mother's dress, only the blue was lighter, more like the sky. Bridget and Megan had always loved wearing their native clothes, it was the one type of clothing they mutually agreed on. As soon as Rick saw Evie, his eyes went wide.

"Awfully."

* * *

The group then loaded up onto their camels. Megan, Bridget, and Helen all shared one as they couldn't afford an extra. But, they weren't complaining. Bridget sat in front, her daughter in the middle, and Megan at the back.

"Never did like camels." Jonathan complained. "Filthy buggers. They smell, they bite, they spit." At that moment, the warden spat something out of his mouth. "Disgusting."

Megan and Helen chuckled a little, as the 'disgusting' could apply more aptly to the warden.

"I think they're adorable." Evie said as she patted her camel on the head.

Megan chuckled again. "Give me a good old Arabian _stallion_ any day."

Bridget gave her a warning glare over her shoulder, to which Megan just shrugged, as if pretending there wasn't an innuendo in what she said. The warden then launched into an Arabic song.

Night soon fell. Evie had fallen asleep on her camel and had started to lean over towards Rick. Rick gently pushed her back into an upright position, and then shushed the camel when it groaned loudly. The warden had also fallen asleep and was snoring, so badly that Jonathan whacked him with the riding crop.

"Ah! No more goat soup!" The warden declared as he was woken from whatever strange dream he'd been having.

Rick looked up to the hill, where he saw a group of men on horses. Megan followed his gaze, but Bridget just focused on controlling the camel. Megan couldn't help but feel that she knew those men, she figured that it was because they reminded her of the men who attacked the barge.

* * *

"Good morning, my friend!" Came the voice of a certain Beni Gabor.

Bridget glared daggers at the little rat; if looks could kill, Beni would have burst into flames and be impaled by many sharp, pointy objects at that moment. The Americans, upon seeing the two Grosvenor sisters, wolf-whistled; causing both women to roll their eyes. Everyone lined up behind their respective guides and faced the horizon.

"Hey, what the hell we doin'?" Daniels asked Beni.

"Patience, my good sahib, patience." Beni replied.

"You remember our bet, O'Connell!" Henderson shouted. "First one to the city! 500 cash bucks!"

"A hundred o' them bucks is yours if ya help us win that bet." Daniels said to Beni.

"My pleasure." Beni replied.

"Get ready for it." Rick murmured to Evie, though the other girls heard what he said too.

"For what?" Evie asked.

"We're about to be shown the way."

As the sun rose over the large expanse before them, a strange haze appeared; and from out of it, a city began to materialize. Hamunaptra.

"Here we go again." Rick stated. And the race began.

It had certainly been a while since Bridget and Megan had even _seen_ a camel race, but they knew that things were going quite well for their team. That is, of course, until that scumbag Beni started hitting Rick with a riding crop. Luckily, Rick was getting fed up and grabbed Beni and threw him to the ground.

"Serves you right!" Evie shouted.

Rick and Evie were now neck-and-neck at the front, but that changed when Evie's camel charged ahead even further, winning the race.

* * *

Bridget and Megan, though excited about the excavation, were a little apprehensive about being in Hamunaptra. Neither sister could explain it, but it felt as though someone or something was watching them. Helen was incredibly excited. Her mother and aunt had taught her to read Hieroglyphics, and she was picking up on the language very quickly, and was eager to put her skills to work; every chance she got she would be reading from a wall or statue. One engraving on an old pillar fascinated her especially, and she ran over to get her mother and aunt. Both women gasped at the carving, it was familiar and yet they had never seen anything like it before. There was the figure of a man in the robes of a high-priest of Amun-Ra, who was kneeling while being restrained by two figures dressed as royal bodyguards. But what was most astonishing was what the men were looking at. It was a lotus flower with a hooded cobra curled around it, as though protecting it, while another man stood behind it, holding a sword and a torch. This was too incredible. Megan pulled out some sketch-paper and some charcoal that she had acquired and began to make a rubbing of it.

"Bridget! Megan!" The two women looked up and saw Evie standing over by the entrance that they would be using to go inside the city. "We're going in! Come on!"


	6. City of the Dead

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy. And will someone please leave a review? I'm getting impatient. Also, I know when we were first introduced to Bridget, she didn't seem to like Evie very much, but they are actually friends. Bridget was just upset about the library.**

City of the Dead

"Hey, look for bugs. I hate bugs." The warden cautioned as the group began to enter the buried city.

They had all descended into a dark chamber, thick layers of sand and grime seemed to cover everything. As Bridget looked over at the others, she noticed someone was missing.

"Where's Helen?"

"Up here, Mum!" The little girl was peering down at them from the opening.

"Helen Martha Grosvenor, get down here right this instant!"

"Sure thing!"

Bridget's eyes widened when she saw that Helen was starting to slip. The rope evaded her grasp, and she was barely clinging on to the rock.

"No, Helen!"

Before anyone else could respond, Jonathan caught the little girl as she fell from the dangerous height. He then handed the child to her mother, who instantly held her, thanking Heaven that the child was safe.

"Helen, sweetheart. I thought you were going to get hurt." Bridget turned to Jonathan. "Jonathan, that was probably the most selfless thing you have ever done. Thank you."

"Oh it was nothing. Nothing at all." He replied, feigning modesty, but was really all puffed up about being the hero for at least one moment in his life.

"Everyone," Evie said after everyone had calmed down from the little mishap, "take a look around. You realize we're standing in a room that no one has entered in more than 3000 years?"

"Uh, what is that god-awful stench?" Jonathan exclaimed. Megan pointed behind him, and he turned to see the warden. "Oh."

Evie then walked over to one of the ancient mirrors, positioning it so it would catch the sunlight.

"And then there was light." Evie quoted as the room was illuminated.

"Hey, that is a neat trick." Rick said.

"Evie, it's a Sah-net-jer." Megan pointed out excitedly.

"Why, yes, I believe it is." Evie concurred.

"A what?" Rick questioned.

"A preparation room." Bridget explained.

"Preparation for what?"

"For entering the Afterlife." Evie answered in a creepy voice.

"Mummies, my good sir." Jonathan stated. "This is where they made the mummies."

As the group proceeded to make their way down the ancient hall, Rick drew out his gun. Bridget and Megan exchanged looks, wondering what he was so worried about; but then again, they never knew Rick to be worried without just cause to be so, he was too rational a man to be paranoid or superstitious. Suddenly, they all heard a weird noise coming from overhead.

"What on Earth was that?" Megan muttered to Rick.

"It sounds like..bugs." He whispered back.

"He said 'bugs'." Evie whispered to the other two men.

"What do you mean bugs? I _hate _bugs!" The warden exclaimed, a note of panic in his voice.

They cautiously approached the legs of the Statue of Anubis, where the Book of Amun-Ra was said to be hidden. Soon they heard more strange sounds, and everyone got their guns ready. Bridget even handed a small pistol to Helen, and whispered to her not to shoot it unless she told her. Everyone readied themselves to jump out to where the noise was coming from; and when they did, they found themselves face-to-face with the American team and their diggers.

"You scared the bejesus out of us, O'Connell." Said Henderson.

"Likewise." Rick responded, as they all lowered their guns.

Just then, Burns stepped forward.

"Hey, that's my toolkit." He announced, looking at what Evie was holding.

"No, I don't think so." Rick said, holding up his gun at Burns who started to back off.

"Okay, perhaps I was mistaken."

"Well, have a nice day, gentlemen." Evie said. "We have a lot of work to be getting along with."

"Push off." Exclaimed Dr. Chamberlain. "This is _our_ dig-site."

"We got here _first_."

Guns were raised yet again.

"This here's our statue, friend." Daniels said to Rick.

"I don't see your name written on it, pal." Rick replied.

Bridget looked down, and noticed some sand was falling into an opening that went down. She gave Evie a slight nudge to the shoulder, and she noticed it as well. A look of understanding passed between them.

"Yes, well," Beni spoke up in response to Rick, "there's only six of you-" Helen raised her pistol at Beni, not allowing herself to be ignored, even though she was only 10, "Fine, seven of you. And fifteen of me. Your odds are not so great, O'Connell."

"I've had worse." Rick stated.

"Yeah, me too." Jonathan added on, earning him a few side glances.

"You bet he has." Megan agreed.

"Oh, for goodness' sake." Evie stepped forward. "Let's be nice, children. If we're going to play together, we must learn to share." Everyone started to lower their guns again. Evie turned to Rick. "There are other places to dig."

* * *

"According to these Hieroglyphics," Evie said as the others started digging into the ceiling, "we're underneath the statue. We should come up right between the legs."

"Ouch, that's definitely going to hurt." Megan said with a snicker.

"Oh, Megan, do grow up." Bridget said while giving her sister 'the look'.

"And when those damn Yanks go to sleep-" Jonathan started then turned to Rick, "no offence."

"None taken." Rick replied.

"We'll dig our way up and steal that book right out from under them."

"Are you sure we can find the secret compartment thing?"

"Oh yes," Evie answered, "those beastly Americans haven't beaten us to it. No offence."

"None taken."

"Mum," Helen said, "I thought stealing is wrong."

"Ordinarily, I would have said so, but I'm making an exception." Bridget responded.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Because why?"

"Helen." Bridget took on a warning tone.

"Hey, where'd our smelly, little friend go?" Jonathan inquired.

Everyone stopped for a moment to look around. No sign of the warden anywhere. No one really cared, though, and they quickly resumed work. Soon, they all began to get tired. They decided to take a breather and resume work in a bit. Rick had decided it would be a good idea to ask about the process of mummification, while Jonathan played golf with rocks and the pickax he had been using.

"So let me get this straight. They ripped out your guts, and they stuffed 'em in jars?" He asked.

"And they'd take out your heart as well-"

"Actually, Evie," Bridget interrupted to correct Evie's error, "that's a common misconception. The Ancient Egyptians would only remove the heart if they didn't want someone to find rest in the Afterlife. To them, the heart was the seat of power. More important than the brain, in fact. They would leave the heart in the body and place a scarab pendant over it for protection. But, do you all know what they did to remove the brain?"

"Bridget, I don't think we need to know this." Jonathan stated.

Megan was getting very weirded out by the mummification talk, Bridget always seemed impervious to finding anything gross. While Megan wouldn't say she was squeamish, she never really understood why anyone would _want_ to know such information. To Bridget, all this was just part of human bodily functions, very ordered and precise, nothing to be disturbed by at all.

"I know! I know!" Helen exclaimed excitedly, hoping to show off her knowledge.

"Very well, Helen." Her mother said. "What did they do?"

"They would take a long, sharp, red-hot poker with a little hook on the end. Ram it up your nose, scramble things around, and then rip it out through your nostrils."

"Ouch," Rick responded, "that's gotta hurt. And how does a _10-year-old_ know this?"

"It's called mummification, you'll be dead when they do this." Evie explained.

"And to answer your question," Bridget added, "Helen is smarter than your average 10-year-old."

"For the record," Rick turned to Jonathan, "if I don't make it out of here. _Don't_ put me down for mummification."

"Likewise." Jonathan replied; and as he did, one of the rocks he'd been swinging at hit the ceiling, causing a large stone object to fall from it with a loud crash. When the dust settled they all stood up to get a closer look. There was no denying what this was.

"Oh my God." Evie said. "It's a sarcophagus. Buried at the base of Anubis. He must have been someone of great importance...or he did something _very_ naughty."

Bridget would have bet every cent she had that it was _both_, and she certainly knew what she was doing when it came to bets.

Evie set to work brushing off the dust and sand. An inscription eventually emerged from under the millennias' worth of debris. _He that shall not be named_. Bridget and Megan both got horribly bad feelings about this, and chills ran up both their spines.

"This looks like some kind of lock." Rick stated as he pointed to a strange metal symbol on the side of the sarcophagus. There was a sort of sun-like design with a winged scarab in the center.

"Well, whoever's in here sure wasn't getting out." Jonathan pointed out.

"Yeah, no kidding. It'll take a month to crack this thing without a key."

"A key? A key, a key. Now _that's_ what he was talking about!" Evie exclaimed as she started to head over to one of the bags.

"Who was talking about what?" Rick inquired.

"The man. The man on the barge, the one with the hook, he was looking for a key." She pulled out the familiar little puzzle-box and opened it.

"Hey, that's mine." Jonathan protested.

Evie set the key in the lock. It fit perfectly, and Evie beamed with triumph. However, the reverie was broken by the sound of screams. Rick readied his gun and everyone stepped out of the way. The warden came running in, clutching his head in agony. Before anyone could even try to help him, he ran straight at the wall. When he fell flat on the ground and didn't move, there was not a single doubt in anyone's mind. He was dead.


	7. The Raid

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

The Raid

"What do you suppose killed him?" Evie asked as they were settled around their campfire for the evening. Helen had fallen asleep in her mother's arms, Bridget clung to her daughter as if she would disappear if she let her go. The warden's sudden death had been very shocking, no one was particularly upset over it but it was still incredibly unexpected.

"Did you ever see him eat?" Jonathan asked jokingly.

"Seems our American friends had a little misfortune of their own today." Rick interjected. "Three of their diggers were..uh.._melted_."

"What?" Jonathan said.

"How?" The three women all added at the same time.

"Salt acid. Pressurized salt acid. Some kinda ancient booby-trap."

"Maybe this place really _is_ cursed." Jonathan said, just then a strange wind blew around them. Everyone turned to look at Evie.

"Oh honestly, you lot." She mumbled irately.

"You don't believe in curses, huh?" Rick inquired.

"No I don't. I believe, if I can see it and I can touch it then it's real. That's what I believe."

"That's a very narrow-minded way to view the world, Evie." Megan pointed out. "I believe that, as our good friend Mr. Shakespeare would have put it, 'There are more things in Heaven and Earth than are dreamt of in your philosophy'."

"I believe in putting the ones you care about first and yourself last." Bridget mumbled to herself, too quiet for anyone to hear.

"I believe in being prepared." Rick concluded.

"Let's see what our friend the warden believed in." Jonathan added as he began rustling through the dead man's bag. Without warning, Jonathan gave a startled yelp leading the others to get worked up, and shaking Helen from her sleep. Helen was a notorious light-sleeper.

"Oh my God what is it?" Evie asked hurriedly.

"A broken bottle." Everyone breathed a sigh of relief as Jonathan withdrew the bottle. "Glenlivet, 12 years old. Well, he may have been a stinky fellow, but he had good taste."

After Jonathan took a swig, Bridget reached out for the bottle.

"Well, kindly share it."

"Ew," Megan exclaimed, "how can you lot drink that? The warden drank from it."

"It's alcohol. It kills any bacteria. However numerous they may be."

Suddenly, they all heard the sound of whinnying horses and some shouts. Rick handed Evie his shotgun.

"Take this. And stay here."

"No, wait! Wait for me!" Evie shouted as she followed him.

Megan and Bridget also got some weapons out of the bag that they had managed to keep after the barge incident. Bridget once again handed her 10-year-old daughter a small pistol, instructing her to stay put and not to shoot unless someone attacked her.

"Excuse me, but didn't the man just say 'stay here'?" Jonathan whined as the two other women followed, and he trailed right behind them.

They found the American camp in utter pandemonium. Bridget really hated chaos, that's one of the reasons why she hated weapons, but it was also the reason she carried them with her. They recognized the black-robed men instantly as the ones who had attacked the barge. Bridget hid behind one of the pillars, shooting at the masked men with skillful aim. Megan had concealed herself in a crevice in one of the ruins, before leaping out to attack the man she assumed to be the leader, throwing him from his horse. They wrestled in the sand for a moment, before Megan got the upper-hand and had him pinned. As she lowered her gun to his face, the man made a grab for it. They fought over the weapon for a few minutes before it slipped from both their hands. Taking opportunity of the distraction, the man grabbed Megan by her arms and rolled them both over so that he was now the one on top. He withdrew a dagger and was about to ram it into her throat when she caught the blade; clasping her hands together, as if in prayer, with the blade in between.

"I am impressed. I did not expect a woman to fight so well." The man said.

Megan narrowed her eyes at him. She hated it when men talked down at her just because she was a woman. Megan had her green veil over the lower half of her face, she liked wearing her veil like that as it gave her an air of mystery. The man must have become interested in seeing what she was hiding, as he nicked the point of the dagger over the corner of the veil, pulling it to the side so he could see her face. Ripping the fabric in the process.

"_I rather liked that veil._" Megan complained to the man in Arabic.

"_You are of __**our**__ blood._" He replied, astonished.

The man pulled his own mask away to reveal his face. Their eyes met for a moment, and neither one could say but there was something they found familiar about each other. Megan instantly snapped back to the present, taking advantage of her opponent's moment of distraction, just as he had done, she rolled them over once again and dove for her gun. No sooner had she grabbed it, than Rick O'Connell had jumped in with a lit stick of dynamite.

"Enough! Yallah!" The man shouted. "We will shed no more blood. But you must leave. Leave this place or die. You have one day." He then rallied his men and led them back into the desert.

Bridget ran over to Megan and held her, relieved that she was alright. Rick helped Evie up from where she had fallen. The Grosvenor sisters couldn't help but notice the way Rick held Evie after he had gotten her to her feet.

"See, that proves it!" Daniels exclaimed. "Ol' Seti's fortune's gotta be under that sand."

"For them to protect it like this, you just know there's treasure down there." Henderson added.

"Are you Americans really that daft?" Megan asked. "These are people of the desert. They'd take a glass of water over a lake of gold any day."

"You know," Burns, who still had shaving cream on his face, interjected, "maybe just at night, we could combine forces, hm?"

Rick nodded, grudgingly. The Grosvenor sisters just shrugged.

"I don't know about the rest of you," Bridget said, "but I could use a drink. Where's Jonathan with that Glenlivet?"

Back at their camp, Bridget was relieved to see that Helen was perfectly safe and had clearly been left alone during the attack. The little girl snuggled up to her mother who wrapped her arms around her protectively, gently running her hand over her daughter's dark-brown hair. After a few more swigs of the Glenlivet, Bridget was being asked how she and Megan knew how to fight so well.

"Well, you have Richard to thank for that." Bridget pointed to the American who just smiled innocently. "Some years back, before Rick left for Hamunaptra, we were both in 'financial situations'. I engaged in a few activities of questionable legality, and so had to learn to defend myself. Megan was still in school, and I had not yet gone to work for our uncle at the Cairo museum. I had my family to support, and it only got more complicated after I got married to Ali. Ali and Rick were 'business associates', I was a young and somewhat reckless girl. A few things got out of hand, and Megan got caught up in it as well and so had to learn to fight too."

"Whatever happened to Ali?" Rick asked. "All you said that it was our buddy Beni's fault that he's gone."

Bridget stared into the flames in the fire pit. Remembering that day was like opening an old war wound.

"After you came back from your first visit here, and recounted the story, you remember how Megan and I didn't believe you? We thought you were just delusional from your adventure-"

"Wouldn't be the first time." Megan added.

"Thank you, Megan, please don't interrupt. Ali believed every word of your story. After you left, he started planning a venture into the desert, when who should pop up but our little friend Beni. Beni promised to lead my husband and his team into the desert. However, the little rat double-crossed us when a certain annoyed business associate turned up. Let's just say, things got out of hand and didn't turn out pretty. After that, I knew it wouldn't be wise to keep going in that line of work. It was bad for me, bad for Megan, and I didn't want to give my daughter the opportunity for it to be bad for her. And then, a Godsend came in the form of Uncle Terrance and Uncle Arthur. Uncle Arthur, our father's brother who is in charge of the British fort back in Cairo, allowed us to help him manage the place and Uncle Terrance, our mother's brother, gave us respectable jobs working for him at the museum."

"I always wondered how you got that apartment." Rick said. "But you never mentioned your dad's brother is in charge of it."

Bridget gave him 'the look' once again.

"So, that's why you get all upset whenever violence happens?" Evie questioned. "It threatens the peace you've worked so hard to build after all those years."

Bridget nodded slowly, her eyes now brimming with a few tears she refused to allow to flow.

"And it's also why she's not afraid to get her hands dirty." Rick added. "Anything that we find disgusting doesn't faze her at all. She could wander through the dirtiest sewer in Cairo all night and be none the worse for wear."

"I have to be the strong one. Because no one else can bear burdens like I can. If someone I cared about had been dragged into the jaws of Hell, I wouldn't even think twice about going after them. Now, with all this said, I bid you goodnight." Bridget closed her eyes and lay down on the blankets that served for a bed and pulled her daughter close to her.

"Well," Megan said, taking one last swig of the Glenlivet, "I do believe I'll turn in too. Night, everyone."

But Megan, no matter how hard she tried, couldn't get to sleep. She kept thinking about that guy she had been fighting. What was it that was so familiar? She realized she must have at least drifted off to a certain extent; because when she opened her eyes, Jonathan was fast asleep and Evie was drunkenly attempting to learn how to hit from Rick. Megan observed their discourse through half-lidded eyes, and was very tempted to say "Hear, hear!" in support of what Evie said to Rick towards the end of the conversation.

"I may not be an explorer..or..or an adventurer..or treasure-seeker, or gun-fighter! Mr. O'Connell! But I..am proud..of what I _am_!"

"And, what is that?" He asked.

"I..am a librarian!" She dropped to her knees in front of Rick, her voice instantly softening. "And, I am going to kiss you, Mr. O'Connell."

"Call me Rick."

Evie leaned in; and just as she was about to kiss him, she passed out.

"Saw that one coming a mile away." Megan said in a clear voice, drawing her old friend's attention.

"How long have you been awake?"

Megan just shrugged off the comment with a look that screamed 'How long do you think?'

"You know, a few years ago, that could've been me passed out there after trying to kiss you."

"Yeah, where does the time go?" Rick said ironically.

Megan rolled her eyes.

"You like her, don't you, Ricochet?" Rick smirked at his old nickname.

"No one's called me that in a long time."

"It's still who you are, _Ricochet_. Anyway, you're avoiding my question."

"When did you give up on your little crush on me?"

"The day Bridget taught me how to shoot."

"Ouch. I was replaced by weaponry."

"Once again, you're avoiding my question. Do you have feelings for Evie?"

Rick just chuckled and ruffled her hair, much to her annoyance.

"Goodnight, Megs."

**This chapter is now concluded. I would like to apologize if anyone took offence to anything derogatory said about Americans, I am trying to keep it in-context, I am an American myself but I understand how British people sometimes think we're stupid.**


	8. Blast From the Past

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy. Just a word of warning, Helen is going to be a little brainiac in this chapter. If you think it's far-fetched for a 10-year-old to be as smart as she is, let me just say that I knew as much as she does by the time I was eight. **

Blast From the Past

"Ooh, I've dreamt about this since I was a little girl." Evie said excitedly as the others lifted the second coffin from its larger sarcophagus.

"You dream about dead guys?" Rick asked jokingly.

"You know, Evie," Megan said, "that could give people the wrong impression about you."

Evie ignored their comments.

"Look, his sacred spells have been chiseled off." She pointed out.

"That means whomever it was that buried him wanted to make sure he was not only condemned in _this_ life but the next as well." Bridget explained.

"Tough break." Rick said.

"Yeah, I'm all tears." Jonathan said sarcastically. "Now let's see who's inside, shall we?"

Jonathan placed the key in the lock and had a little difficulty turning it. The girls all stepped back a few feet, while the two men tried to pry the lid open. Bridget and Megan were getting more and more uneasy, they began to feel as though bad things were going to happen, and soon. Suddenly, the lid popped off, and a decaying corpse leaned forward with a hissing sound and a puff of dust. Bridget was the only one who didn't leap in terror at the sight of the slimy mummy, she was lucky to have such a strong constitution. Helen hid behind her mother, absolutely frightened.

"Oh my God, I _hate_ it when these things do that!" Evie exclaimed.

"Is he supposed to look like that?" Rick inquired.

"No." Bridget answered, shaking her head. "He most certainly is not."

"I've never seen a mummy look like this." Evie continued. "He's still..still.."

"Juicy." The two men finished.

"For lack of a better word, yes." Bridget responded.

"He must be more than 3000 years old." Evie deduced. "But it looks as if he's still..decomposing."

Megan started to nudge Evie's shoulder anxiously.

"Uh, Evie. You might want to take a look at this." She pointed to the inside of the coffin lid, upon which there were strange marks.

"My God," Evie said, "these marks were made with.."

"Fingernails." Bridget finished in a hushed voice, as though speaking too loudly would somehow be offensive.

"This man was buried alive."

"Evie," Megan got her friend's attention and pointed to and inscription in the coffin lid, "look. He left a message."

"_Death is only the beginning._"

They all turned their heads back to the mummy, which seemed to have taken on a slightly more sinister look, but they shook it off as just their overactive imaginations. Bridget and Megan couldn't put their fingers on it, but the mummy seemed almost familiar. The sudden upsurge in familiar things of late had begun to annoy both women to a great extent, and they both wanted to make this little research thing as short as possible. However, Evie would not let either of them leave. So it was with heavy hearts that Bridget and Megan watched the two men and the 10-year-old walk back up to camp without them.

* * *

As part of the agreement, the two camps joined up for the night. Rick and Jonathan were sitting by the campfire, while Helen sat reading a book on mummies, waiting for the girls to get back, when the American team showed up.

"Say, O'Connell, what do ya think _these_ babies will fetch back home?" Henderson asked as he waved the ornate jar.

"Whoa." Helen said, wide-eyed. "You guys found Canopic Jars?"

The Americans gave her questioning looks.

"What's a cacopic jar?" Asked Henderson.

Helen rolled her eyes.

"_Canopic_." She corrected. She then held up her book. "They hold the vital organs of a mummy. One in each of four."

"Well we found five, but the fifth was broke so we left it."

"Five? That's not right. The Egyptians only removed four organs and they threw the brains away."

"So, little missy, what's this one?" He held up the falcon-headed jar.

"Qebehsenuef."

"Huh?"

Helen rolled her eyes again, as if she thought that everyone should know the meaning behind the jars.

"Each jar is represented by one of the four sons of the god Horus. Horus is the god of pharaohs. Qebehsenuef means 'He who refreshes his brothers', he is the god of the West and protects the intestines."

"So I guess that's pretty much like me." The other guys looked at him. "What? I'm Western and I got guts."

That earned a laugh from the others.

"So," Daniels looked at the little girl, "what's this one mean?" He held up the jackal-headed jar.

"Duamutef, 'Who adores his mother with the heart'. He guarded-"

"Wait, let me guess. The heart?"

"No." She said in exasperation. "The stomach. The Egyptians never removed the heart unless they wanted to doom a soul in the Underworld. Duamutef was the god of the East."

"He looks kinda like that Anubis fella'."

"People often confuse the two." She then turned to Mr. Burns. "Which one do you have?"

He held up the jar with the lid that was shaped like a man's head.

"Imseti. My book doesn't say what his name means, but he guarded the liver and was god of the South. Where's the fourth one?"

"Oh, the good doctor has that one." Henderson answered. "It's got some kinda monkey head on it."

"Hapi. The baboon. He is known as 'the great runner'."

"Well he certainly knows how to run away from a fight." The Americans started chuckling again.

"It has to do with navigation. He is one of the Four Pillars of the god Shu, god of air who holds up the sky, and one of the Four Rudders of Heaven and is god of the North."

The Americans turned to Rick and Jonathan.

"This kid probably knows more than the two of you fellas combined." Daniels said.

"Yes," Jonathan said bitterly, "humiliating. A 10-year-old learns more from one book than I do in two-and-a-half years in university." He was met my awkward glances. "Don't ask."

"You mentioned a fifth jar." Helen said to the Americans. "What did it look like."

"It had some sorta lion's head on it." Henderson stated. "It was broke and dusty and all that, so we just left it where it was."

"A lion's head? That sounds like Sekhmet, goddess of chaos, war, and pestilence. I've never heard of a Canopic jar with Sekhmet on it. Whoever the owner of the jars was, they must have done something pretty bad to have Sekhmet guarding one of their organs."

"Well," Burns spoke up, "we heard you all found a nice, gooey mummy. Congratulations by the way. Maybe those jars have _his_ organs in 'em."

"I don't think so. Miss Evelyn said he was buried alive, so his organs weren't removed."

"Well, if ya dry that fella out, you may be able to sell him for firewood." Daniels said jokingly.

Helen gasped in shock. To her, mummies were important pieces of history and needed to be placed in museums. Seeing the distress on the child's face, Daniels realized he'd said the wrong thing.

"It was only a joke, lil darlin', didn't mean to upset ya."

"Look what we found!" Came a voice. Everyone turned and saw that it was Evie and the others.

"You're in her seat." Rick said to Beni, who just tried to laugh it off. "Now!"

Beni quickly obliged when he heard the tone in Rick's voice.

The three women joined the group. Evie took the seat next to Rick, Megan sat on her left, and Bridget seated herself next to her daughter. Evie then held up her hand, in which she held some little black things.

"Scarab skeletons," she explained, "flesh-eaters."

"Found them in our new friend's coffin." Megan said with more enthusiasm as she was now a good distance away from the mummy himself.

"They can stay alive for years, feasting on the flesh of a corpse." Evie explained.

"Tragically," Bridget continued, "our friend was still alive when they were eating him."

"So," Rick said as he examined one of the scarabs, "someone threw these in with our guy, and they slowly ate him alive?"

"_Very_ slowly." Evie answered with perhaps a little too much enthusiasm.

"Well, he probably wasn't a popular fellow when they planted him, was he?" Jonathan stated, irony dripping from every word.

"Probably got a little too frisky with the pharaoh's daughter." Rick suggested jokingly.

"Mum," Helen turned to her mother, "what does he mean by that?"

"Rick," Bridget looked her friend in the eye, "kindly refrain from making such statements around my daughter."

"The kid can explain every detail of mummification, but you never told her-"

"Rick." She sent him a warning glare.

"Well, according to my readings," Evie decided to change the subject back to the mummy, "our friend suffered the Hom-Dai. The worst of all ancient curses, one reserved only for the most evil of blasphemers. In all my research, I've never heard of this curse having actually been performed."

"That bad, huh?" Rick asked.

"Yes, well, they never used it because they feared it so. It's written that if a victim of the Hom-Dai should ever arise, he would bring with him the ten plagues of Egypt."

By now, everyone was getting a little shaken. To lighten the mood, Megan decided to get out her violin. She played a rather upbeat tune, an Irish reel, and everyone seemed to cheer up. Once more, she was greeted by applause when she finished.

"I have to put Helen to bed." Bridget announced as she took the child by the hand.

"But, Mum, I'm not tired."

"Yes, you are."

"No I'm not."

They continued like that as they walked over to where their makeshift bed was.

"I'm going to turn in too." Megan stated. "Goodnight, everyone. Pleasant dreams. Don't let the scarabs bite. Seriously, don't let them bite or they'll devour your flesh."

* * *

For as long as the Grosvenor girls had known Evie, they had known she was a bit accident-prone. But, what they hadn't expected from her, was sheer stupidity. When you find a mummy that is clearly all that is left of someone so hated that he was executed in the most barbaric of ways according to his culture, and it's clear he's cursed, the last thing anyone should do is read from a book that is said to bring dead people back to life. It just can't end well. That's why neither Bridget nor Megan had been expecting to be awoken by the terrified shout of Dr. Chamberlain.

"No! You must not read from the book!"

That was when the locusts came. Everyone instantly began running to the entrance of the city to find shelter from the thousands upon thousands of locusts. They all thought they were safe, until a large mound appeared before them from out of the sand, and hundreds of scarabs came pouring out. They had finally reached a large chamber, with a ramp that led up. Seeing a niche, Bridget, Megan, and Evie all ducked for cover. The men saw a platform and jumped, Jonathan managed to grab Helen and pull her out of harm's way just in time, much to Bridget's relief. When the scarabs had passed them by, however, the three women fell through a trapdoor.

"Where are we?" Megan asked.

"We must've fallen through a trapdoor in the wall." Evie answered.

"At least Helen is safe." Bridget sighed. "Jonathan seems to be very good at protecting her."

Just then, they heard a moaning sound. When they turned, they saw a man that they recognized as Burns.

"Oh, Mr. Burns, thank goodness." Evie said. "We were just starting to get scared, we lost our group and-"

She was cut off mid-sentence, when he turned around and the three women saw that his eyes were gone, and from the way he was mumbling it was clear his tongue was gone as well. Evie and Megan both let out startled screams, while Bridget was simply shocked. At that moment, the mummy they had unearthed appeared, in the 'not-quite-living' flesh. Megan made a move to try and help Burns, and the mummy paid her no heed. Slowly he advanced on the other two women who were backing up to the wall behind them. Bridget stepped in front of Evie, arms outstretched defensively, anger burning inside her for a reason she couldn't figure out. When the mummy saw the women, recognition flashed in the eyes that he had stolen from the unfortunate man who was being led away from the scene by Megan.

"_Sitre-meramun_?"

Bridget knew that name. She didn't know how she knew it, but there was that unusual sense of familiarity once again. The mummy then took note of Evie's presence.

"_Anck-sun-amun_?"

The mummy drew even closer. Bridget knew he would probably only understand Egyptian, so that was the language she spoke to him with.

"_Stay away from us._"

"_I will not harm you, my Cobra. You are Sitre-meramun._"

"_Who?_"

"_Someone who did not deserve the torment she and her sister endured._" His gaze then returned to Evie. "_Come with me, my princess, Anck-sun-amun._"

That was when a miracle, in the form of Rick O'Connell, appeared. Followed by the other missing members of the team. The mummy let out its horrifying yell at Rick, who responded by yelling back and shooting at him, then grabbing the two women by the hand and leading everyone back towards the exit.

The mummy, however, stood right back up, and decided to pursue the remaining two people in the crypt. Megan had been steadily guiding the unfortunate Mr. Burns away from where the mummy had been, she was confident that Bridget wouldn't let anything happen to Evie and they would somehow find a way out, but right now it was Burns who needed help.

"It's going to be okay, Burns. I'll get you out of here and get you to a doctor."

The poor man was still moaning in pain as she helped him along. Then, they heard the growl of the mummy.

"By, Allah." Megan said. Under ordinary circumstances she would have said 'Oh, Lord' or 'Oh, my God', but this situation was different.

"No." Burns sobbed in despair.

The mummy advanced on them, hands reaching out. Megan withdrew her gun and fired, but it didn't make any difference. Suddenly, the mummy stopped and stared at her.

"_Netikerty?_"

Just as when Bridget heard the ancient name the creature addressed her by, Megan's eyes widened in semi-recognition.

"_Netikerty._" The creature repeated. "_I knew when I saw our beloved Cobra that you would not be far._"

Megan prayed with all her might that someone, anyone, would help her and Burns. So, when a tall man in dark robes appeared, holding a cat, and the mummy screamed and disappeared in terror, she wasn't going to complain.

"Are you both alright?" The man said.

"I am," Megan answered, "but _he_" she gestured to Burns, who was still slumped on her shoulder, "could definitely use some medical attention."

The man helped her lead Burns back out to where a large group of men in black were waiting. The men took Burns and started to tend to his injuries.

"May I have the pleasure of knowing the name of my rescuer?" Megan asked.

The man lost his serious expression for a moment and held up the cat that had frightened the mummy away and handed it to her. It was an Egyptian Mau, a beautiful thing that was gray with dark spots on it.

"His name is Iah."

Megan smiled, after what just happened she needed something to lighten the mood.

"Well, tell _Iah_ that I am very grateful he was there to help me and my friend."

"I am sure he is only too pleased to be of help. He hates evil, you see." The man replied.

"And what might _your_ name be?"

"Ardeth Bay. And yours?" He had started to get back his seriousness.

"Megan, though that _thing_ seemed to be under the impression that my name was Netikerty."

Ardeth became even more serious, his eyes narrowed.

"If that is who he believes you to be, then you must do all you can to stay away from him."

"Oh, no complaints here. So, who are your friends?"

"We are the Med-jai. An ancient order that has sworn to keep the creature from being reborn."

"So that's why you attacked us last night." It wasn't a question. The reasoning made perfect sense. "And within the space of two days, we've managed to ruin centuries of work."

"Exactly."

"Whatever happens after this, please know it was not _my_ doing. I wanted to leave, but no one listens to me." She then looked over his face again. "You're the one who almost killed me last night."

"Yes. You fight very well."

"Thank you. I understand why you attacked us, but if you had given us an explanation earlier we may have been more inclined to take your advice."

Just then, there were voices coming from the tunnel. The Med-jai all readied their weapons, when the others all emerged. Bridget and Helen ran over to Megan and hugged her.

"I told you to leave or die." Ardeth said to them. "You refused. Now you may have killed us all. For you have unleashed the creature that we have feared for more than 3000 years."

"Relax," Rick said, "I got him."

"No mortal weapon can kill this creature. He is not of this world."

The other Med-jai led Burns forward. Daniels and Henderson rushed to his side.

"You bastards." Daniels said.

"What did you do to him?" Henderson asked.

"They saved him." Megan answered. "And me."

"We saved them before the creature could finish his work." Ardeth went on as if Megan hadn't spoken. "Now leave, all of you, before he finishes you all." He then shouted to his men in Arabic. "We must now go on the hunt, and try to find a way to kill him."

"I already told you, I got him." Rick repeated.

"Know this, this creature is the bringer of death. He will never eat, he will never sleep, he will never _stop_."

Time seemed to speed up, and before they knew it, they were all headed back to Cairo.

**Yes, I extended the scenes a bit. Sorry for any OOC-ness, I'm still new to fanfiction. The name of the cat, Iah, is the name of an old Egyptian moon god.**


	9. Holding Down the Fort

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

Holding Down the Fort

When they arrived at Fort Brydon, Bridget quickly arranged for rooms to be made available to everyone. Bridget also sent for the local doctor to attend to Mr. Burns. As the sisters were making their way down the hall, they heard Rick and Evie arguing about whether or not they should stay and fight or leave. They decided it would be in their best interests if they left the two to their bickering, and headed down to the bar. Jonathan and the two Americans who hadn't been blinded or had their tongues ripped out were already there. Helen was also there, talking with Winston, a former fighter pilot from the War. Winston was well-known in the bar and often enjoyed retelling his war stories to anyone who would listen, and sometimes to those who wouldn't.

"Winston." Bridget said as she approached. "I hope you're not telling my 10-year-old daughter that story about your little adventure in Paris."

"My dear Ms. Grosvenor, I know better than to relate such a story to innocent ears." The portly man replied.

Bridget gave 'the look' but said nothing more on the subject.

"Helen, sweetheart, why don't you go keep Mr. Burns company? He's probably all alone in that apartment."

"Okay, Mum."

As Helen skipped off, Megan turned to give Bridget an incredulous look.

"You're going to just let her walk off on her own? With some crazy mummy on the loose?"

Bridget looked her sister in the eye.

"We're perfectly safe here, and that monster is only after the people who opened the chest."

"Which Burns is one of."

"If that thing were here, we would know. Helen is perfectly fine."

Megan shook her head and sighed as she headed over towards the bar, Bridget following close behind her. The two women seated themselves at the bar.

"Jimmy," Bridget addressed the barkeep, "get us something strong. And these boys," she pointed to the two Americans and Jonathan, "get as much as they want, on the house."

The man nodded, he had a way of knowing when his employer's niece and her friends were in bad shape. The Americans thanked her, but their tones were somber. Rick joined them, Winston followed him to the bar, going on about how he wished he had "gone down in flame and glory, instead of sitting around here rotting of boredom and booze". Winston then proceeded to steal Jonathan's drink, and departed for the air-field once again.

"We're all packed," Henderson said, "but the damn boat doesn't leave till tomorrow."

"Tails set firmly between your legs, eh?" Jonathan inquired.

"Jonathan," Bridget warned, "don't be so judgmental. After all, we don't have a 3000-year-old mummy after us."

Rick turned to Daniels, who had been silent up to that point.

"How's your friend?" Rick asked.

"He had his eyes and his tongue ripped out." Daniels responded coldly. "How would _you_ be?"

* * *

Meanwhile, over at the apartment where Burns was staying, a little girl showed up.

"Mr. Burns. I'm Helen Grosvenor." She said. "You remember? I'm Bridget's daughter."

"Please, come in." He mumbled.

Helen walked up to him, putting on a 'brave act' that would make her mother proud, and sat across from the unfortunate man.

"I'm really sorry about what happened to you, Mr. Burns."

"Not your fault." He replied, though it was still sorry to understand him.

"But, Mr. Burns, I think you were very strong to make it through that."

"Y-you do?"

"Sure I do. You made it through something so horrible, with very little complaining, and when you get back home you'll know you survived being attacked by an evil undead being. You're a hero, Mr. Burns." Helen knew that she was being too generous. She knew that Burns wasn't a hero, as it was the foolishness of him and his friends that unleashed the curse in the first place. But the man had just gone through something extremely traumatic, he could use a pep-talk. "Do you want me to get you some tea, Mr. Burns?"

"Y-yes, thank you."

Helen leapt up from her seat, and went to get some tea ready. She found one of the maids, an old Englishwoman, who helped her make the tea and put it on a tray. When she arrived at Mr. Burns' door, she was met by two people. One, she recognized as that little rat Beni, the other was dressed in a long cloak and wore a mask. Helen glared at Beni, her mother had told her that this was the man who was responsible for her daddy's death.

"Hello, child."

"Mr. Gabor, what are you doing here? Haven't you been enough trouble for us?"

"I have a visitor for Mr. Burns, kindly let us in."

Helen spat on Beni's shoe, and then proceeded to open the door by pressing down the handle with her elbow while holding the tea-service in her hands.

"Mr. Burns, there's someone to see you. And I brought the tea."

Helen set the service down on the little table in front of Burns.

"Child," Beni addressed, "perhaps it would be best if you leave. This is a private conversation."

Helen glared at Beni again, then shifted her gaze to the man in the cloak and the mask. There was something that seemed unnatural about him. But, she knew when she was not wanted, and left with only a "Good day, Mr. Burns."

* * *

"Cheers." Rick said as they all clinked their glasses together, then shot back their drinks, only to spit them out again.

"Holy Jesus." Henderson stated. "That tasted...just like..."

"Blood." Rick finished, dropping his glass on the floor when his eyes caught sight of the fountain.

"And the rivers and waters of Egypt ran red," Jonathan quoted, "and were as blood."

"He'd here." Rick concluded.

You didn't have to tell Bridget and Megan twice. They bolted, heading straight for Burns' apartment. Bridget released a breath she hadn't noticed she was holding, when she caught sight of Helen.

"Mum, what's happening?" The child asked.

"Helen, go back to our apartment, and stay there until I come back." Bridget told her.

Bridget, Megan, Evie and Rick were the first to reach Burns' room. And the sight that met their eyes horrified them. Burns had been drained of his life force, and now resembled a shriveled up mummy-type corpse. And worse still, the mummy of Imhotep had begun to regenerate. When the others barged in, Imhotep grabbed Rick and threw him against the entourage. Bridget and Megan tried to shield Evie. The mummy chuckled at their attempt.

"_Protecting my rescuer, sisters? She saved me from the undead. I wish to thank her._" He said to the two Grosvenors. He then leaned in towards Evie, in an attempt to kiss her. When, suddenly, a noise was heard. Bridget had never been so grateful for that white cat that Ali had gotten her for her birthday. She had always wanted a cat, and Bast was truly a gift from the gods themselves as the mummy screamed in terror at the sight of her and fled in a whirlwind of sand.

"We are in very serious trouble." Rick stated.


	10. You Know Each Other?

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

You Know Each Other?

They had all joined up at the apartment owned by the Grosvenors. Helen was still a bit shaken up after it dawned on her that she had let Imhotep go right into Mr. Burns' room, and was therefore at least partly responsible for his death. While Bridget attempted to calm her daughter, by reassuring her that it was not her fault, Evie had come to the conclusion that they needed to get to the museum to ask help from the curator, the only person who might have any idea about what to do. They quickly got to Jonathan's car and made their way to the Cairo Museum.

They had all been arguing about what to do as they made their way along the hall, only to stop in surprise when they turned the corner to see the curator and a certain Medjai leader.

"You!" Evie shouted.

"Miss Carnahan." The curator greeted. "Ladies. Gentlemen."

"Uncle Terrance, what's going on?" Bridget asked, her gun raised at Ardeth along with everyone else's. "What is _he_ doing here?"

"Do you really want to know, Bridget, or would you and your friends prefer to just...shoot us?"

"Everyone, put your guns down." Megan ordered. "He"-she pointed to Ardeth-"saved my life."

Everyone lowered their guns and agreed to listen to what the curator and Ardeth had to say.

"We are part of an ancient secret-society." The curator explained. "For over 3000 years we have guarded the city of the dead. We are sworn at manhood to do any and all in our power to stop the High-Priest Imhotep from being reborn into this world."

"And now, because of you, we have failed." Ardeth finished.

"And you think this justifies the killing of innocent people?" Evie inquired.

"To stop this creature?" The curator said. "Let me think..."

"Yes!" Both he and Ardeth shouted.

"Question." Rick raised his hand. "Why doesn't he like cats?"

The question made Megan remember how Ardeth had saved her and Burns at Hamunaptra, and she realized that she had forgotten to ask despite her curiosity.

"Cats are the guardians of the Underworld." The curator answered. "He will fear them until he is fully regenerated."

"And then he will fear nothing." Ardeth added.

"And you wanna know how he gets himself fully regenerated?" Daniels said.

"By killin' everyone who opened that chest." Henderson answered.

"And suckin' 'em dry, that's how!"

"Jonathan, will you stop playing with that." Evie fussed at Jonathan, who had been messing with the bowstring of the archer in the display. She then turned to the curator and Ardeth. "When I saw him alive at Hamunaptra, he called me 'Anck-sun-amun'." The two men exchanged looks. "And just now, in Mr. Burns' quarters, he tried to kiss me."

"It was for his love for Anck-sun-amun that he was cursed." The curator explained. " Apparently, after 3000 years.."

"He is still in love with her." Ardeth finished for him, once again.

"And that's not all." Megan spoke up. "Back at Hamunaptra, he called me 'Netikerty', and Bridget said he referred to her as 'Sitre-meramun'."

The curator froze.

"That is not good." He said. "My dear girls, if he truly believes you two to be those women, then we are in worse circumstances than before."

"Well, who are they?" Bridget asked.

"Imhotep's sisters. They were condemned to death for their knowledge of Imhotep's involvement with Anck-sun-amun. The Medjai later realized that it had been an unjust punishment. Imhotep swore to avenge their deaths."

"Well, this is all very sweet," Evie said, "but what's it got to do with _us_?"

"Perhaps he will once again try to raise Anck-sun-amun from the dead." Ardeth suggested as if he hadn't heard her.

"Yes," the curator agreed, "and it appears he's already chosen his human sacrifice." He turned to Evie.

"Bad luck, old mum." Jonathan said.

"And what about me and Bridget?" Megan asked.

"I'm not sure what his plans for you two are," the curator stated, "but whatever it is, it cannot be good. However, it may just give us the time we need to kill the creature."

"We will need all the help we can get." Ardeth said, looking up at the window in the roof. "His powers are growing."

The sun was being blocked out.

"And he stretched forth his hand towards the heavens," Jonathan quoted, "and there was darkness throughout the land of Egypt."

* * *

While the others headed back to the fort, Megan insisted that she stay at the museum to do some research. As she headed for the library, which had been miraculously straightened up since Evie's accident about a week earlier, she realized someone had followed her. She turned around to see Ardeth.

"Do you require any assistance?"

Megan raised an eyebrow.

"Do you enjoy sneaking up on people?" She asked jokingly.

"You're not afraid, are you? Not like the others."

"I don't get scared that easily. Bridget's even better about it than me."

"No, she is afraid. I could sense it. But you...you are not afraid in the slightest. Why?"

"Maybe it's faith. Maybe I just have confidence in what we're doing. Anyway, help _would_ be greatly appreciated. Thank you."

Megan went about searching for any books that might be useful. The two were silent for a while.

"You and your sister did not seem angry with your uncle for keeping secrets from you." He said.

"We always had a feeling he was keeping secrets. We were the ones who didn't bother asking him. So I don't see how we can judge him. This is clearly not something that can just be brought up at the dinner-table." Megan chuckled. "What about you? How can you be so calm in the face of the potential end of the world?"

"It is a Medjai's duty to be willing to sacrifice himself to keep the world safe from the creature. Truth be told, I am afraid. But, I will gladly give my life to destroy Imhotep."

Megan smiled. She wasn't sure what it was, but she was sure she had met this man before Hamunaptra. Ardeth too felt the sense of familiarity with this woman, somewhere in the past they had known each other.

"If we all make it out of this alive," Megan said, "I want to learn about the Medjai."

"Why would you be interested in that?"

"Because it's a part of my heritage. My Uncle Terrance is my mother's older brother, and that means I have Medjai blood, doesn't it? I want to know more about who I am."

"Then I promise you, that should we live through this, I will take you to see my tribe and learn our ways."

"Thank you, Ardeth."

* * *

"We must stop him from regenerating!" Evie declared. "Who opened that chest?"

"Well there was me and Daniels here." Henderson replied. "Oh, and Burns of course."

"And that Egyptologist fella'." Daniels added.

"What about my buddy Beni?" Rick asked.

"Naw, he scrammed outta there before we even opened the damn thing." Henderson answered.

"Yeah, he was the smart one." Daniels added, once again.

"Yeah, that sounds like Beni." Bridget said angrily.

"Well, we must find the Egyptologist and bring him back to the safety of the fort before the creature can get to him." Evie concluded.

"Right, these three stay here," Rick pointed to the two women and the child, "and the rest of you come with me."

Everyone began to protest. Evie and Bridget were the most irritated, and were venting their anger at Rick. Rick proceeded to sling Evie over his shoulder and grab Bridget by the hand, and took them into Evie's room, he then closed the doors, just as Helen had gone in so she could stay with her mother, and locked the three inside. Rick then grabbed Daniels by the front of his shirt.

"This door doesn't open." He ordered. "They don't come out. And no goes in. Right?"

"Right." Daniels agreed.

"Right?" Rick turned to Henderson, who simply nodded. "Come on, Jonathan."

"Oh, I thought I'd stay at the fort and reconnoiter." The Englishman said.

"Now!"

"Right, we'll just go..and rescue the..Egyptologist."

* * *

"Evelyn, give it up." Bridget sighed in defeat. "They're not going to let us out."

"It's not fair! I have more of a right to be sorting out this mess, and yet I'm stuck in this room."

"We might as well get some rest. We'll need all our strength."

Bridget got on one side of the bed, her daughter nestled up to her, and Evie on the other. Soon, the three were fast asleep, completely oblivious to when Imhotep showed up and sucked the life out of Henderson. And were still clueless, when Imhotep entered the room by turning into sand and going in through the keyhole. Imhotep looked at the two women and the child. He lightly brushed his hand over Bridget's hair in a brotherly sign of affection, he then leaned down next to Evie, and kissed her. Evie awoke in horror at the sensation, and Helen shot up and screamed, causing Bridget to awaken and clutch the child protectively while attempting to shove the threat away. That was when Rick, Jonathan, and Daniels burst in.

"Hey!" Rick shouted. "Get your ugly face off of her!"

Imhotep turned to face Rick, and threatened him in Egyptian.

"Look what I got." Rick said as he held up Bridget's cat, causing Imhotep to scream and flee once more.

"Are you alright?" Rick asked the three girls.

"Well, I'm not sure." Jonathan answered, causing everyone to look at him incredulously.

* * *

They all returned to the museum, where they were met by the curator, Ardeth, and Megan. Megan related her assumption that Imhotep not only wanted Evie but her and Bridget as well. The theory being that he would try to find a way to bring back his sisters, just like he planned to bring back Anck-sun-amun, the only problem being that the two women didn't have mummies, as their bodies had been destroyed and their souls lost forever. Megan then led them to the stone block that possessed the information regarding the Book of Amun-Ra.

"According to the Bembridge Scholars," Evie said, "the black book that the Americans found is supposed to bring people back from the dead. Until now, that was a notion I was unwilling to believe."

"Better believe it, sister, that's what brought our buddy back to life." Rick said.

"Well, I'm thinking that if the black book can bring people back to life-"

"Then maybe the gold book can kill him."

"That's the myth. Now we just need to find out where the gold book is hidden."

Just then, they heard the sound of chanting outside. They all moved to look out the window, and were horrified by what they saw.

"Last, but not least, my favorite plague, boils and sores." Jonathan said.

"Well, let's _hope_ this is the last one." Bridget responded, clutching Helen protectively. "The tenth one is death of all the firstborn."

"They have become his slaves." Ardeth stated. "So it has begun. The beginning of the end."

"Not quite yet it hasn't." Evie said before turning and heading straight for the stone block and beginning her translating. "According to the Bembridge Scholars, the gold book of Amun-Ra is located inside the statue of Anubis."

"That's where we found the black book." Daniels pointed out.

"Exactly. They mixed the books up. Mixed up where they were buried. So if the black book was located inside the statue of Anubis, then the golden book must be inside..."

The doors of the museum burst open and the brainwashed people of Cairo burst in.

"Come on, Evie, faster." Jonathan hurried her.

"Patience is a virtue." She replied.

"Not right now it isn't." Rick retorted.

"I think I'll go get the car started." Jonathan announced.

"I've got it!" Evie declared. "The golden book of Amun-Ra is at Hamunaptra inside the statue of Horus! Take _that_, Bembridge Scholars!"

"Okay, great!" Bridget shouted. "Now let's get out of here!"

* * *

They saw that going out the main entrance was impossible, so Bridget led them down through a secret back door she knew about. They got out in time to see Jonathan waiting in the car. They all piled inside, only to turn around when they heard Beni yelling to Imhotep to alert him that they were escaping.

"You're gonna get yours, Beni! Ya hear me!" Rick shouted as they drove off. "You're gonna get yours!"

"Oh, like I've never heard that before!" Beni shouted back.

The escape attempt had been going moderately fine, until Jonathan suddenly stopped the car. There was a whole line of Imhotep's slaves. Rick wasted no time, and slammed his foot down on Jonathan's in order to hit the accelerator. Helen held tight to her mother, while Bridget shot at any of the zombie-fied people who got too close. And just when it seemed their group had the upper-hand, Daniels got grabbed by two of the zombies. There was nothing any of them could do. Suddenly, they crashed into one of the stalls. They all tried to run as the zombies closed in, only to find themselves backed into a dead-end. The crowd suddenly went silent, and parted to allow the now-regenerated Imhotep to approach, Beni was there as well following right behind him.

"It's the creature." The curator said. "He's fully regenerated."

Imhotep then spoke to Evie.

"Come with me, my princess." Beni translated. "It is time to make you mine, forever."

"For _all eternity_, idiot." Evie corrected.

Imhotep continued to speak, and held out his hand.

"Take my hand, and I will spare your friends."

Bridget and Megan both moved in front of Evie. Imhotep spoke to the two women.

"Sisters, I will not let harm befall you, but do not interfere."

"Oh, dear." Evie whispered to Rick. "Any ideas?"

"I'm thinking, I'm thinking." Rick replied.

"Well, you'd better think fast, because, if he turns me into a mummy, you're the first one I'm coming after."

Evie knew she had no choice. She had to go with Imhotep.

"No." Rick protested as he raised his gun.

"Don't!" Evie cautioned. "He still has to take me to Hamunaptra to perform the ritual."

"She is right." Ardeth, who was restraining Rick, assured him. "Live today, fight tomorrow."

Rick looked Evie in the eyes, then turned to Imhotep.

"I'll be seeing _you_ again."

Imhotep turned and began to lead Evie away. Beni had gone over to Jonathan, and stole the key from him, much to Jonathan's chagrin. As if things weren't bad enough already, Imhotep shouted out one final command to his zombie-slaves.

"_Kill the men!_"

Evie struggled to get out of his grip, to no avail. The crowd began to descend upon them. Rick then saw a chance for them to escape, a sewer-hatch. He pulled off the lid and grabbed Jonathan.

"What about my sister?" Jonathan asked.

"We're gonna get her back." Rick answered as he dropped the Englishman into the sewer below. He then turned to Ardeth. "You're next."

The curator had pulled out a sword and was hacking at the crowd, in order to allow the others to escape. Rick then grabbed Helen and dropped her down the hatch, allowing her to be caught by Jonathan. Followed by Megan, who was caught by Ardeth. Then Bridget, who landed in the sewer without a problem, and finally Rick. Bridget turned to Rick when they were all down in the dark Cairo sewer.

"Where's my uncle?"

Rick turned to her with an apologetic look. For the first time since her husband died, Bridget allowed herself to cry.

**I bet you all are wondering why Imhotep didn't make Bridget and Megan go with him. That will be answered in a bonus chapter that will be posted when this story is over.**


	11. Up, Up and Away

The Snake and the Flower

**I don't own The Mummy.**

Up, Up and Away

They eventually got back to the car, now that the zombie threat had gone. Bridget was silent throughout the duration of the ride out to the air-field.

"So, why are we going to this air-field?" Ardeth asked Megan. Megan, though still shaken from her uncle's awful demise, had managed to direct her attention to the task at hand.

"We're going to get help from Winston." She replied.

"Who is Winston?"

"A former pilot from the Great War. His one goal in life is to die in battle."

Ardeth gave her a disbelieving look.

"I know," Megan continued, "it's never made sense to any of us. It's some sort of honor to give up your life if you give it up for a just cause. I suppose, in other words, it's about being a hero. Of course, it's not very reassuring when your pilot has a death-wish."

"So, why do we need his help?"

"We need to get to Hamunaptra as fast as we can. And the only way to do that is have Winston fly us there."

The car pulled up, and the group instantly spotted the old Englishman.

"Mornin', Winston! Uh, a word!" Rick called out as they walked over to where Winston was seated, listening to music on the phonograph and sipping his morning tea.

"O'Connell, old boy. What brings you out here?" Winston inquired. He then took notice of the others. "Miss Megan, Ms. Bridget, Miss Helen, what are three young ladies doing here at this hour?"

"Winston, we've got a problem." Rick said.

Helen suddenly got worked up.

"A bad man killed Uncle Terrance, and is going to hurt Miss Evelyn!" Helen may have been ten, but at that moment she felt five.

"And what does your little problem have to do with His Majesty's Royal Air Force?"

"Not a damn thing." Rick replied.

"Richard, language." Bridget cautioned. Everyone turned to look at her. Same old Bridget again. Rick's use of the word 'damn' within earshot of Helen must have caused Bridget's maternal instincts to kick in once more.

"Is it dangerous?" Winston inquired of Rick.

"Well, you probably won't live through it."

"By Jove, do you really think so?"

"Well, everybody else we've bumped into has died, why not you?" Jonathan said.

"What's the..uh..what's the challenge then?"

"Rescue the damsel in distress, kill the bad guy, save the world." Rick answered.

"Hahaha, Winston Havelock, at your service, sir. Haha." Winston added with a salute.

At first, Winston had been unsure of bringing the girls on this very dangerous mission. But they insisted. Bridget hadn't wanted Helen to come along, but she kept saying she wanted to help and that she wasn't scared. Jonathan finally vouched for the child and agreed to make sure nothing happened to her while they were there. Unfortunately, the plane only had enough room to seat a pilot and a gunman. Rick decided to man the gun, while the others were strapped to the wings. Ardeth and Megan on one; Jonathan, Bridget, and Helen on the other.

"Alright, everybody!" Winston declared. "Ready for take-off!"

* * *

Megan had never liked flying. When she was younger, she had been taken up in an airplane, and she hated every second of it. Of course, it wasn't so bad being pressed up next to an attractive Medjai leader. Bridget was not afraid of flying, Jonathan on the other hand was very near to screaming his head off. Just then, Rick turned and called out to them.

"Are you alright?"

"Do I bloody look alright?" Jonathan shouted back.

"Jonathan!" Bridget yelled. "Stop yelling in my ear! We're fine, Richard!"

Rick then turned to the other wing and whistled to get the other passengers' attention.

"How ya doin'?"

Megan looked up and glared at Rick.

"You know I hate flying!" She shouted.

Suddenly, they caught sight of an unusual sand storm.

"You see that?" Winston called out to the others. "I've never seen one so big!"

"Never?" Rick questioned.

"No!"

The sandstorm soon dissipated, and in its place were three figures. Then, without warning, an enormous wall of sand arose. Bridget, Megan, and Helen suddenly felt a strange sensation come over them, like a spotlight was on them. Soon, the sand wall swallowed the plane. There was a roar of sand and wind and shouting, and then it stopped. The sand wall had gone, the only downside was that the plane decided to crash.

The rag-tag team scrambled out of the wreckage. Somehow Megan, Bridget, and Helen had all landed on the ground without so much as a scratch on them.

"Excuse me!" Jonathan called out, he was still bound to the wing and practically dangling upside-down. "A little help would be useful if it's not too much trouble!"

"Yeah, yeah." Rick muttered as he helped him down.

"Is everyone alright?" Bridget asked.

"Yeah, fine." Rick answered gruffly. "Winston! Hey, Winston!" He froze, and Bridget instantly sensed something was wrong. They all came over just as Rick checked Winston's pulse. There wasn't one. Then the plane began to sink.

"Quicksand!" Ardeth shouted. "Get back! It's quicksand!"

They all looked on as what remained of the plane and the late Winston Havelock sank beneath the sand. Rick gave the old man a farewell salute, and they all began the march to the ancient city.

* * *

As they crossed into the city, Megan noticed something.

"My violin case!" She exclaimed as she rushed over to get it. "I knew I left it here when we escaped Hamunaptra."

"Oh, yay." Rick said sarcastically. "You found your violin case. By any chance does it know where to find the book of Amun-Ra?"

Megan glared.

"Don't be such a bully, Rick. This violin has been a lifesaver for me."

"Wait a moment," Ardeth spoke up, "you used that to hit me when we attacked the barge."

Megan started chuckling.

"That was _you_?"

"Okay, can we get a move on?" Rick asked irately.

As they made their way inside, Bridget turned to Helen.

"Helen, sweetie, I want you to stay close and not go wandering off, alright? Jonathan has promised to make sure you don't get hurt. And, if he fails, I'm going to skin him alive."

Helen nodded and Jonathan winced. It wouldn't be the first time he'd been threatened like that.

**A short chapter, but necessary.**


	12. Into the Underworld

The Snake and the Flower

**Sorry I took so long. I don't own The Mummy.**

Into the Underworld

"Take those bigger stones first!" Jonathan ordered as the other four adults all cleared away stones from the passageway. "Take them from the top, otherwise the whole thing will cave-in on us! Come on; put your backs into it!"

By then, everyone had had enough.

"Jonathan," Bridget said in a sweet voice, "if you are not going to help, then shut up."

"Well, yes," he replied nervously, "you all get the picture, chop-chop."

They all rolled their eyes and returned to work. Just then, Jonathan took notice of the jeweled scarabs in the wall.

"I say." He plucked one out.

"I don't think that's a good idea for you to touch that." Helen said with worry.

"Hey, you all should have a look at this." Suddenly, the scarab came to life and began burrowing into his arm, making him scream. As soon as Bridget heard the scream, she turned and demanded to know what happened. "My arm! My arm!"

Bridget tore his sleeve off and saw the evil little lump that was the scarab making its way up. She quickly put her hand in its path to stop it continuing its murderous journey.

"Do something! Do something!" Jonathan screamed. Bridget whipped out her penknife and set it against the lump. "No, not that! Not that!"

Bridget ignored his pleas and cut the scarab out, projectiling it up into the air to land with a slight thump on the ground. The scarab began to move towards them again, only to be shot by Rick. Bridget then rounded on Jonathan as she ripped a strip from her tan dress and used it to bind up the wound.

"When are you going to start acting responsible, Jonathan? Need I remind you that you are in charge of looking out for my only child, as you promised? And you just go ahead and take some random thing out of the wall of a cursed city. And not just anything. You _had_ to pick up an object that resembled a creature that digs into your skin and eats your flesh! You are insufferable, Jonathan Carnahan!"

* * *

Eventually, they managed to get through the passage. They soon found themselves slipping into a darkened chamber. Megan took notice of one of the ancient mirrors that was positioned just out of reach of a beam of light. She withdrew a pistol that she had strapped to her belt and fired at it. The mirror altered its position, and soon the whole room was illuminated, revealing the mountains of treasure. Everyone's eyes went wide, especially Jonathan's. Even Helen gaped in awe at the sight of endless mounds of gold.

"Can you see?" Jonathan asked.

"Yeah." Rick answered.

"Can you believe?"

"Yeah."

"Could we just-?"

"No."

They were interrupted by a weird sound, and turned just in time to see a bunch of mummies coming up from the ground. Bridget instinctively pushed Helen behind her as she and the others all raised their guns.

"Who the hell are these guys?" Rick asked.

"Priests." Ardeth answered. "Imhotep's priests."

"Alright then."

They all opened fire on the mummies. Soon they realized that they couldn't keep up that tactic, so they all made a break for the tunnel at the other end of the chamber. By pure luck, they happened upon the statue of Horus.

"There he is!" Jonathan declared. "Hello, Horus old boy."

The mummies were still coming. Rick pulled out a stick of dynamite and lit a match by striking it across Ardeth's face, much to the Medjai's annoyance.

"Time to close the door!" Rick shouted as he tossed the dynamite in the direction of the incoming mummies. Everyone quickly dove behind the statue until the explosion went off, and then set to work trying to dig out the secret compartment. As Ardeth reloaded his gun, they all heard the sound of more mummies approaching.

"Do these guys _ever_ give?" Megan asked.

"Keep digging." Ardeth said as he went forward to attack the mummies. He instantly began shooting. Soon they got the compartment open, and pulled out a box. When they opened the box and pulled aside the cloth they gasped at the sight that met their eyes.

"The Book of Amun-Ra." Jonathan whispered, out of reverence more for the fact that it was made of gold than the fact that it could save his sister.

However, they didn't get to marvel too long as they heard the sound of more shooting until it became clear that Ardeth had run out of ammunition. The Medjai then turned to them.

"Save the girl. Kill the creature." He then leapt into the crowd of mummies, fighting them single-handedly. "What are you waiting for? Get out! Get out!"

They all began to run, except for Megan, who just stared after the Medjai.

"Megs, what are you doing?" Rick shouted. "Come on!"

Megan turned to them and smiled.

"See you all outside." She said before bolting into the passageway after Ardeth.

Rick and Bridget knew there was no stopping her now. Rick hastily lit another stick of dynamite that blew open a hole in the wall, as well as dispatched some more mummies. Once the way was clear, they all ran through the dynamite-made entrance.

* * *

Megan didn't understand why the mummies weren't attacking her. All they did was stare at her as she shot them with the firearm, occasionally resorting to beating them with it instead.

"What are you doing here?" Ardeth asked her she pulled a mummy off of him, just as it was about rip his throat out.

"Saving your life." She responded casually. The momentary distraction was all that was needed for the mummies to sneak up and grab her. She struggled and kicked. Ardeth was about to come to her rescue when yet more mummies started battling him.

Megan really hated being manhandled, especially when the men were more than 3000-years-old and decaying. But when they reached wherever it was the mummies were taking her, her eyes widened in shock. It was a large, black-granite fountain that was carved to resemble Kebechet, the daughter of Anubis as well as the 'anointer of the dead'. From the fountain flowed a strange, black liquid that Megan knew was something more than water. The liquid ran down to a chamber below, perhaps in the same place where Imhotep planned to sacrifice Evie. On the ledge at the fountain's rim, there was a silver cup.

"By Allah," Megan whispered, "the Well of Souls."

One of the mummies picked up the cup and dipped it in the water, then brought it over to Megan. Megan instantly resumed her struggling, but the mummies wouldn't budge. Just as the mummy with the cup lowered the strange liquid to Megan's face, the chamber door burst open and Ardeth ran straight for the mummy with the cup. As the mummy was sliced to bits, his arm was cut off and the cup dropped, splashing the liquid on Megan's face. The mummies that had been restraining Megan had released her in order to attack Ardeth, and they were joined by still more mummies. Megan _really_ hated mummies at that point, but her thoughts became clouded for a moment, and she felt memories begin to surface.

_It was a bright and sunny day. Megan was dressed in a fine linen robe, and had lotus blossoms woven into her hair. She looked around at the columned walkway to see an older woman approach her._

_"Netikerty," the woman said, "you have been chosen to play for the goddess."_

_The woman did not even wait for a response. She took Megan, or Netikerty, by the wrist and led her to a chamber that was dark and full of incense vapors. At the back of the chamber, shrouded in a golden veil, was the statue of Hathor, the goddess of love and beauty. In front of the statue was an intricately designed instrument that looked like a cross between a cello and a harp. Megan picked up the bow and began to play a sweet tune. As she played, she became lost to those around her, who began to become serene to the sound of her music, and even to the sacred torches that burned in the chamber, which had changed from their natural color of flame to an ethereal blue. The woman who had brought her into the chamber looked at her in awe._

_"From this day, any being who hears your music, will find peace."_

Megan snapped back to reality, and pulled her violin from its case that she had slung over her shoulder.

"Ardeth," she shouted, "cover your ears!"

"What?" He yelled back.

"Just do it!"

He instantly abandoned the mummies he had been fighting and did as she instructed. Megan brought up her violin and began to play. At the sound, the mummies all stopped. They stared, or they would if they still had eyes, and began to sink back into the ground. Megan played a soft, harmonious tune and the mummies all looked calm, as if they were finally able to rest in peace. When the mummies had all sunk back into the sand, Megan stopped. Ardeth, who had since uncovered his ears, looked at her in amazement.

"How did you do that?" He asked.

Megan smiled and shrugged.

Suddenly, the ground began to shake.

"I think it's time we left." Megan stated, and the two began a mad dash to get out.

* * *

_While all that was happening..._

Imhotep raised the ceremonial dagger, and just as he was about to strike, a shout was heard.

"We've got the Book of Amun-Ra! I found it, Evie! I found it!" Jonathan declared while the 10-year-old he had been charged with keeping safe stood right beside him.

"Shut up and get me off of here!" Evie yelled back.

When Imhotep saw the Book of Amun-Ra, he set down his ceremonial dagger and began to advance towards them.

"Open the book, Jonathan!" Evie shouted. "It's the only way to kill him! You need to open the book and find the inscription!"

"I-I can't open it!" Jonathan shouted as he desperately tried to pry open the golden pages. "It's locked or something! We need the key, Evie!"

"It's inside his robes!"

Imhotep was steadily advancing so Jonathan grabbed Helen's hand and hightailed away to try and figure out a plan. Suddenly, Rick leapt into the scene, attacking the mummy priests with a sword that he had found. Imhotep ordered his priests to attack Rick; just then, Bridget ran in, using the distraction to allow her some time to come to Evie's aid.

"Richard!" Bridget shouted. "I could use some help here!"

"I'm a little busy right now!" He replied as he was being tackled by two of the mummies.

Bridget froze, and felt a strange sensation in her hands. She raised her right hand and the two mummies that were attacking Rick suddenly began to retreat as if something was hurting them. When they backed off, Rick raised his sword to break the manacles that bound Evie to the sacrificial altar.

"Mummies." He scoffed, when he was suddenly forced to the ground by another mummy, who held him down as yet another mummy approached with a giant slab to crush him. Thinking quickly, Bridget grabbed the sword that Rick had dropped before a severed mummy hand could grab it and swung it at the mummy with the slab, sending him toppling backwards. Bridget then sliced at the mummy that still had Rick pinned and helped her friend up. Finally, they were able to break Evie out of her restraints. But, this victory was short-lived as Jonathan tried to read the inscription on the cover of the Book of Amun-Ra.

"Great going, genius." Helen said sarcastically as a small army of soldier mummies entered the playing field.

"Oh, yeah, this just keeps getting better and better." Rick said.

"Do something, Jonathan!" Bridget shouted.

"Me?" He replied.

"You can command them." Evie pointed out.

"You have _got_ to be joking."

"Finish the inscription on the cover, you idiot, _then_ you can control them!" Bridget shouted in vexation.

"Uh, right." Jonathan said as he and Helen scurried off again.

As the others watched the two run off, Evie was suddenly grabbed by the reanimated mummy of Anck-sun-amun. Imhotep shouted an order to the soldier mummies and they immediately began to attack Rick. Bridget saw a second sword lying on the ground and snatched it up, prepared to fight, but the mummies didn't attack her. She then looked over and saw Evie struggling to escape Anck-sun-amun.

"Can you hold these guys off?" She shouted to Rick.

"No problem!" He answered, though with not much enthusiasm.

Bridget was instantly in pursuit of Evie and Anck-sun-amun, trying her best to fend off the dead woman as she swung the sacrificial dagger at them both.

"Just let _me_ read it." Helen said as she tried to grab the book out of Jonathan's hands.

"No, I read the spell; I should be the one to finish it." He replied.

"Will, someone just read the goddamned incantation!" Bridget yelled, causing Helen's jaw to drop in shock that her mother had used a swear word.

"I can't figure out this last symbol!" Jonathan called out.

"What does it look like?" Bridget asked as she tried to grab Anck-sun-amun and hold her back from slicing Evie open with the dagger.

"It's uh, a bird, a stork!"

"Amenophus!"

"Oh, yes, I see."

"Jonathan!" Bridget yelled out in impatience as she was back-handed by the mummy and sent sprawling.

Jonathan yelled out the final incantation, as Imhotep was advancing on him once again, and the soldier mummies stopped right before they could impale Rick with their spears. Imhotep turned to stare in shock when the mummies did not kill Rick, and began to shout orders at them.

"A little help, please, Jonathan!" Bridget yelled as she fought furiously to get Evie away from Anck-sun-amun. Jonathan shouted out an order to the mummies to kill Anck-sun-amun. They instantly complied with the order. When Imhotep saw his beloved killed a second time, he turned on Jonathan with the intent to kill him. As he raised the man off the ground, he was unaware of the ten-year-old girl reaching into the pocket in his robe where he had placed the key. Rick came running over to Jonathan's defense, slicing off Imhotep's arm. Imhotep did not seem the least fazed, only annoyed, and he whammed Rick in the face, sending him flying. Jonathan picked up the Book of Amun-Ra as Evie and Bridget ran over to him.

"Where's the key?" Bridget demanded.

Helen smiled mischievously.

"You mean _this_?" She held up the little box.

"Who's my favorite little pick-pocket?" Jonathan said as he hugged the girl.

"While I am displeased with the ethics you have been teaching my child," Bridget said as Evie scrambled to open the book, "I must say they've come in handy."

Imhotep was just about to finish Rick off, when Evie found just the right incantation. As soon as she began to speak the spell, Imhotep looked over in terror. Once Evie had finished speaking, a strange light appeared and the god Anubis came riding in on a chariot, carrying Imhotep's immortal soul back to the Underworld where it belonged.

"I thought you said it was gonna _kill_ him." Rick said as a very angry Imhotep approached, ready to finish him off. But, no sooner had Imhotep reached Rick, than he stopped. Rick had stabbed him with the sword.

"He's mortal." Evie stated.

Imhotep let out a gasp and backed towards to black pool of water from which the soul of Anck-sun-amun had risen, as he entered it he once more became a decayed mummy. As the strange, black pool swallowed him into its depths, he looked at Bridget and spoke his final words.

"_Death is only the beginning._"

Suddenly, the temple began to shake.

"I'd say it's time to go." Bridget stated.

"Couldn't agree more." Rick replied.


	13. Farewell

The Snake and the Flower

**I do not own The Mummy.**

Farewell

"Oh couldn't we just…?"

"No, Jonathan!" Evie replied as she dragged her brother away from the mountains of gold so that they could get out with their lives. They quickly slid and crawled underneath the steadily falling slabs that would've sealed them in had they not made it out in time. However, a certain 'nasty little person' named Beni was not so fortunate, and ended up being trapped forever in the cursed city.

As soon as they saw the exit, they ran as fast as they could to escape; dodging falling columns and sinking sand. Bridget began to worry, she saw no sign of her little sister. They all stared at the place where Hamunaptra had once stood, only to be shaken from their thoughts when Jonathan let out a terrified scream. When they turned around, they saw that Ardeth had put his hand on Jonathan's shoulder.

"Oh, thank you." Jonathan said sarcastically. "Thank you very much."

"You've earned the respect and gratitude of me and my people." The Medjai responded.

"It was nothing."

"May Allah smile upon you always." He made a small sign that was clearly meant as a blessing. Jonathan made a failed attempt at mimicking the gesture.

"And…yourself."

Megan, who had been standing next to Ardeth, who was already on his camel, went over to hug her sister.

"See you around, Bridget. Ardeth has agreed to teach me the culture of the Medjai." Tears started to brim in her eyes. "I'll miss you, but I think this is something I need to do." She ruffled Helen's hair. "Take care, squirt. Don't make too much trouble for your mother, okay?" Helen nodded sadly, she would miss her aunt. Megan gave Rick a friendly punch on the shoulder. "Look after yourself, Ricochet."

"I'll try." He responded with a brotherly smile.

Megan then turned to Jonathan, giving him a goodbye hug.

"Don't be too much of a pain, Jonno."

"I make no promises."

Finally, she gave Evie a hug.

"Don't wreck too many libraries, old mum."

"I'll do my best."

With the goodbyes said, Megan took Ardeth's hand and he pulled her up onto the back of his camel, and together they made their way off into the desert.

"Stay out of trouble." Rick called after them.

"They're just…leaving us here." Jonathan said in exasperation. "Well, I guess we go home empty-handed, _again_."

"I wouldn't say that." Rick responded as he looked lovingly at Evie.

"I wouldn't say that either." Helen interjected, as she held up a small bag.

"Helen, what…?" Her mother started.

Helen opened the bag and inside was an assortment of priceless gold objects.

"I found more in one of the camel's saddles while you all were just standing there. But these…I kind of swiped them while you all were shooting mummies."

Jonathan let out a joyous laugh and picked the child up and spun her around in the air. Bridget just shook her head, but smiled. The group mounted their camels, including the one that had the gold that Beni had taken, and began the long ride back to Cairo.

**Finally! The main story is finished! However, I'm not quite through with this yet. I will soon post a chapter that is all about Imhotep's thoughts throughout this story. I will also be writing the sequel with the Mummy Returns and so on and so forth. Catch ya later.**


	14. Thoughts of One Cursed

The Snake and the Flower

**I decided to make this chapter to show what was going through Imhotep's thoughts from his first death up until his second death. I just felt that some things needed clarification, as well as the fact that I love looking into people's minds and wondering what they think about things, especially if their thoughts relate to their opinions on change in the world around them. Just so you know, because Imhotep's thoughts are technically in Egyptian, anything said in other languages will be italicized and he will not know what they are saying. I will also be making allusions to the Bible, as it is implied that Imhotep was around at the time of the beginning of Exodus. And now, for the last time, I do not own The Mummy.**

Thoughts of One Cursed

It was not fair. Not for them. My sisters had simply been trying to protect me as they always have. They did not deserve the torments that were inflicted upon them by that spoiled Prince Ramses who now proudly wore his father's crown. He had always been full of contempt and arrogance, just like his father before him, and his cowardly sister dared to weep for my sisters, how unworthy she is. How dare those filthy Medjai lay a hand on my sisters? They do not even deserve to kiss the feet of my beloved sisters. I can never forgive myself for having wrought such pain upon my loved ones, but I had to do it out of love for my precious Anck-sun-amun. Surely they must understand why I did what I did. Even now, as I lay agonizing as the scarabs slowly devour me, I cannot help but wonder what will become of the spirits of my sisters. The Medjai destroyed their earthly bodies, therefore their souls will not exist in the next life; but they were both sacred priestesses, and were blessed by the magic of the gods themselves. Surely ones who were so favored will be given a second chance, and should I ever arise, I will find my Cobra and Lotus and bring them back just as I will restore life to my Anck-sun-amun.

* * *

Many centuries had passed, but I still lived in a way. My spirit was cursed to forever remain here until someone reads from the Book of the Dead. In my eternal prison I heard many things, though I saw nothing; I knew not how much time had passed, but I frequently recognized the sound of horses and the cries of men in battle. After one battle had ended, I sensed something I hadn't in a long time, a survivor of one of these battles was standing by the statue of Anubis. I felt a chance to maybe send a message to this person, so I channeled what energy my spirit possessed and made my image appear in the sand near to where whoever it was stood. But, my efforts were foolish, perhaps, as the person ran off in fear. It was not the best plan, but it was a final effort to let another human being know that I was here. And then, the land above me went quiet. I knew that perhaps two others had survived the battle, but they left not long after this other had. I did not bother to try and let them know of my presence, I would just have to wait for the day I would finally return.

Then, I felt it. It was most likely not many years after that last battle, when I sensed the presence of many. Would there be another battle soon? I could feel in the sand that these were not people armed for battle specifically. Rather, it sounded like…tools? I heard many voices, most of them male but I do believe I detected at least three female ones. Perhaps now was my chance. I decided to wait and let them come and find me. I soon heard the sound of voices approaching where I lay buried. Yes, yes, just a little closer. If my heart was still intact and could beat it would have leapt for joy. I began to hear the sound of clanking and cracking and other sounds that told me they were digging into my resting place. Oh, happy hour, O gods of Egypt, you have not deserted me, despite my crimes. My decayed body rattled around in its coffin as I knew the large, stone sarcophagus must have fallen down to the chamber where these people had been digging. I heard a woman's voice speak in a language I did not know. It was familiar somehow. I heard the muffled discourse between two men and several women, and…a child? Who would bring a child to such a place as this? I soon heard a clicking noise. The key! One of these people had the key! They would let me out of this accursed prison. My joy was briefly turned to worry when I heard the sound of screams, followed by a loud thump. Someone was dead. However, I knew my soon-to-be saviors were unharmed as I sensed the life of them was intact. I became impatient when I sensed them leave and go to the above ground. _Patience, Imhotep_ I cautioned myself _they are but mortals and need rest to continue their work. Have patience with them._ So I waited. But then, I heard the sounds of combat, men yelling and weapons clashing. What if my rescuers were killed? What if none of their compatriots came to continue their work? But, my fears subsided as I once more felt the life still in those who had found me. After all this time, it gave me hope.

I waited eagerly, savoring my deliverance as my finders set my coffin upright and began to speak in excited tones. I detected much happiness in them; clearly they did not yet understand what I was. I heard a final click as the key was placed in the last lock that kept me a prisoner. Yes, do it! Free me from this prison! I felt the rush of the musty air of the temple hit my rotted corpse. I heard things so clearly, unmarred by my stone prison. I could hear my rescuers coughing against the dust that must have poured forth from my grave. They began to speak in that strange language again, but I think it was clear what they must be feeling upon seeing me. I must look repulsive to them. As they talked, I began to hear something familiar in the voices of the women. There were three, to be exact, and I heard the faint voice of a girl child. The men and the child eventually departed, but the women continued to examine my remains. Then, I knew what it was that was so familiar in two of the women's voices. I felt like a fool for not recognizing it. Even though they spoke in this strange new tongue, the voices of my beloved Cobra and my treasured Lotus rang clear and comforting in this horrible place. I felt peaceful for the first time in what has seemed to be forever when I heard the lilting voice of my dear Netikerty, even the rougher and more commanding tone of dear Sitre-meramun was a consolation. I longed to speak to them, to say "It is I, your brother, save me my cherished ones, my only family", but I could not form the words to speak. I had no tongue. I could not look upon their beautiful faces, as I had no eyes. Only hearing, that was the one gift the gods had bestowed me until I was awakened.

I felt my joy depart as they left. Please, O mighty gods and goddesses, let one among their comrades find the chest and read from the book. I beg you. Let me be reunited with those that I love. It was only a matter of hours before I heard it. The incantation that would bring me back. I knew it must be being read by the third woman, as the voice sounded like neither of my sisters. She finished the first part of the spell, and I roared as I was reborn into the world. I knew the woman had not finished the spell, someone had yelled at her to stop. A still could not see, even though I could move, but I could sense the beings that ran in fear throughout the temple. Most clearly of all, I could see the ones who had opened the chest. How foolish of them, but how fortunate for me. I found one, walking unsurely through the corridors. He moved as though he could not see well, and he would be easy prey. I grabbed him, and he screamed in pain and fear as I took his tongue and eyes. Although this one had had trouble seeing, I saw everything clearly, every word on the walls, every grain of sand on the floor. I noticed the man wore strange garments and looked too pale-skinned to be an Egyptian.

Soon, I heard a rumbling sound, and I detected that three people must have fallen through one of the trap doors. I moved out of the shadows, where I had moved as I became used to using eyes again, and the women screamed in fear, except for one who just looked shocked. I noticed that one of the women had darted over to assist the man I had taken the eyes and tongue from, but I paid her no mind. I moved towards the two women who had backed up against the wall. The older of the two women moved in front of her younger friend, her arms outstretched like the protective wings of Nekhbet. At first I did not realize who it was, but that look of anger burning in the brown eyes that she and I had once bore in similar likeness thousands of years ago made me look more closely, and I realized who this young woman was. Her black hair was pulled back and tied into a blue veil that accompanied the blue dress she wore; I remembered how she had been required to wear blue every day since her initiation into the cult of Wadjet. The clothing looked like the kind that I knew to be worn by women of Persia and Medea. Had Egypt been conquered by foreign savages? Never. Egypt was eternal, untouchable. And yet, I had been ignorant of how much time had passed. But all the same, there she stood, strong and proud as she was the last time I had seen her.

"Sitre-meramun?" I asked.

She looked at me in confusion and would not move, it was then that I noticed the woman she was protecting from me.

"Anck-sun-amun?" No. This was not my beloved. Not in body or in spirit. Though there was something familiar about her that I did not know what, I knew she was the one who had read from the book. She would be the one through which my darling Anck-sun-amun would be resurrected. I tried to move closer, but my dear Cobra would not stand aside.

"Stay away from us." She said, though the language that she had once spoken since birth now sounded rehearsed, as if she had had to learn it a second time.

"I will not harm you, my Cobra." I assured her. "You are Sitre-meramun."

"Who?" She did not know who she was? No matter, I would find a way to restore her memories.

"Someone who did not deserve the torment she and her sister endured." I then returned my attention to the other woman. I knew she was not my beloved, but she would help me restore her. I wished to embrace what I had lost, and this woman was as close to my Anck-sun-amun as I knew. I reached out my hand, longing to feel the warmth of this living woman who would be the source of rebirth for my love. "Come with me, my princess, Anck-sun-amun."

Suddenly, I heard the sounds of many men running. They came charging in. The men were strange in appearance, two of them were fair-haired, they were all dressed in strange clothes that I did not recognize as belonging to any people us Egyptians had known; at least, not in my time. The clothing was like that of my first victim, I guessed that whatever people these were were accustomed to such clothing. I noticed that one man was holding the girl child I had sensed, she wore a dress like the one my Cobra wore, and there was something about her that I recognized, but I was unsure. Another man, one that I took to be the leader, ran over to the two women yelling in that dialect I did not know. When he saw where they were looking, he turned and yelled in horror at the sight of me. I was infuriated that this infidel had interrupted my encounter with my sister and the woman who I would use to bring back my Anck-sun-amun, so I let out a monstrous shriek to scare him away. He responded by letting out a yell in imitation of me, and raised some strange metal weapon. A blast of strange fire hit me and knocked me down. I heard the people retreat and head for the gateway of the city. I was unharmed by this foolish mortal's weapon; no mortal weapon can bring me harm. However, I would bring vengeance upon this man for daring to attack me; but for now, I needed to focus on finding my escaped victim.

I began to feel hopeful, for if my Sitre-meramun was alive, perhaps that woman that had gone to the aid of my victim was Netikerty. Netikerty was a very caring soul, she hated seeing people suffer. I am not amazed that she would do all she could to assist that man whose eyes and tongue I had stolen, she did not understand yet who I was. My poor, misguided Lotus, with such a caring heart, she will understand in time why I have to do what I will do, she cannot begrudge me the chance to live. I made my way through the halls, and saw her. My dear, precious, little sister was helping that undeserving man to walk. She had stopped and fired one of those strange weapons at me; it caused no harm of course. Just like my Cobra, Netikerty wore this bizarre foreign garb, only in green that matched her papyrus-colored eyes. It pained me so that my Lotus was so afraid of me. Netikerty had been more than a sister to me; she had been like a daughter. As the only man in our family that lived, I was seen as the father for my sisters, even though it was Sitre-meramun who took on the role of protector. I remembered how the three of us were forced to live on the streets after the death of our parents; Netikerty was barely old enough to walk at the time.

"Netikerty?" I asked, hoping that she would remember me. I noticed a spark in her green eyes that told me she did remember, at least to some extent. "Netikerty, I knew when I saw our beloved Cobra that you would not be far."

I moved closer, but just like what had happened in that other chamber, some fool dared to interfere. But it was not just any fool, it was a Medjai. Filthy slaves of the pharaoh, the ones who had tortured my dear ones for _my_ actions. That dirty commoner held in his arms a cat. I cursed the fate that had made me fear the keepers of the Underworld. Though in my life I revered the sacred beings, the animals held in the highest regard by my people, I hated this creature for forcing me to flee in fear from its presence. I was filled with rage. How dare this Medjai mongrel come between me and the sister who I regarded as dearly as I would a daughter? When I regenerated I would unleash a merciless slaughter upon the Medjai for their crimes against me and my innocent sisters.

I fled to where I knew the Book of the Dead had lain in order to find the sacred jars that held the vital organs of my Anck-sun-amun. I found the box, but it was empty! Tomb-robbers! My sisters now walked with tomb-robbers! Surely they were ignorant of what these men had done. My sisters would never desecrate sacred earth. Nor would they have done as I had and disturb the Book of the Dead for selfish purposes. My sisters were a light in darkness, with unquestionable honor. Even their decision to keep my secret was founded in their love for me, and love for a brother is a virtue. I soon felt a being draw close. Another tomb-robber? I could hear the shaking fear in his whimpers as he entered the room. He did not see me at first, as his back was towards me; but when he turned, he stared in horror as all others did. I knew he was not one of the men who had opened the chest, they all had an aura about them that marked them as cursed, but I wanted to vent my anger at something, so I decided I would kill this man purely out of spite. He began to slowly back away as I moved in for the kill. He raised several talismans in succession, speaking in many foreign tongues; it would be of no help to him, whatever gods or goddesses he called upon would give him no protection from me.

Then, I heard it. The language that was spoken by the Hebrew slaves who toiled on Seti's monuments. I became fluent in the dialect, thanks to a Hebrew woman who tended to a child that Seti's daughter, Nefertiri, had found in a basket in the reed marsh. The woman was very kind, and loved that child as much as the princess. I often wondered if Jochebed, for that was the woman's name, had lost a child to Seti's cruel edict to slaughter the newborn Hebrew boys; she nursed prince Moses and raised him as a Hebrew, and Jochebed's other children, Miriam and Aaron, treated the boy as they would a brother. I had been sickened when Seti had ordered the slaughter of the Hebrew boys, my sisters and I had known many Hebrew children when we were little and they were always kind to us, sharing what little food they had with us when we were starving. I thought it was barbaric to enslave people, we Egyptians rarely had slaves in the past, we usually relied upon paid servants, but Seti was a tyrant. He deserved none of the good fortune that the gods had granted him, but he got his due in the end, struck down by two lovers that he would have kept apart forever. I knew that when I took over this world, I would bring an era of peace and freedom for all mankind; but to achieve this goal would require the deaths of a few, is it not better then to let a few perish so that others might live in peace? As to the man before me, I knew he had no shred of human decency in him, his frivolous use of religious emblems that were dedicated to many different gods showed that he would serve whoever gave him safety. He was just the man I needed to find the thieves who stole the sacred jars. The only jar that had remained was the smashed jar that held the dusty remnants of Anck-sun-amun's heart, the men who mummified her had cut her precious heart from her chest as a sign of her crimes against the pharaoh. The thieves must not have found any value in it, so they left it where it was and took the remaining ones. I needed to collect the other jars, as well as my sacrifice, so I could bring back Anck-sun-amun; I also needed to regenerate so that I would be able to complete my goals; I would make sure that the tomb-robbers suffered for their sacrilege. I decided to strike a bargain with the cowering man before me, his life and as much treasure as he could carry in exchange for service in finding the ones who opened the chest as well as the Book of the Dead and the three women I sought.

* * *

The man who now served me, Beni he called himself, managed to acquire for me a mask and a heavy, black cloak so I could move about in the presence of men and they would not shrink in fear. My servant Beni told me that what I sought could be found in a city known as "_Cairo_", which resided across the Nile from the pyramids of the great early kings. When I saw the familiar structures once again, I was saddened how all that remained of the great structures was the crude under-stone rather than the gleaming white marble and gold that I had remembered from my lifetime. Thieves must have pilfered the valuable materials, who knows what else foreigners had taken from my homeland. The mighty sphinx, once a proud symbol of the great pharaoh Khafra, was missing its nose and looked to have been badly damaged, and it was clear to me that it was not the sands of time alone that had worn away at the great beast, the hands of men had done their damage as well. So, these outsiders were not content to rob the tombs of sacred relics, they also found amusement in vandalizing the structures that were evidence of Egypt's glory. They would pay dearly for it.

This city of "_Cairo_" was strange in design, with more of this unusual new technology. I saw chariots that moved without aid of horses, that Beni called "_Vehicles_" and some sort of contraptions that were shaped like plant-bulbs that contained light in a form called "_Electricity_". The buildings were also strange; they seemed to be sturdy and made of stone and bricks like the dwellings of ancient times, but they were built in ways that I did not understand, and there were streets that were paved with smooth stone and what looked to be black tar, what Beni called "_Roads_". There were animals I had not seen that must have been brought in from the East, creatures called "_Camels_" that seemed to be more frequently used than horses, I did not much care for the beasts as they seemed to me to be vulgar and repulsive animals with foul tempers, in a way, they resembled the god Set in appearance as well as temperament, I almost wanted to laugh at the cruel irony that a god of chaos resembled such ghastly creatures.

The people of Egypt looked changed as well, they all walked about in heavy clothing that looked uncomfortable; I saw that many women wore those Eastern clothes, like the ones my sisters and my sacrifice had worn, and most of them kept themselves covered with thick veils. I noticed that at some point since my death, a foreign people must have conquered Egypt and intermarried with the true-born residents of the land. I was disgusted at the thought; in my time, we had always been told that there were two kinds of people, Egyptians and the uncivilized outsiders. My opinion of the Hebrew people was that they were 'adopted' Egyptians and therefore civilized, that is why I hated the fact that they were enslaved. Before my father died, he would tell us of when the Hebrews first came to Egypt; he said that a Hebrew man was brought as a slave from Canaan, sold by his own brothers to a band of Ishmaelites who were kindred to both Hebrews and Egyptians, the man was one day brought in to interpret the dreams of the pharaoh, and through him Egypt had been delivered out of a famine that would have destroyed us all. The Hebrew man was named Zaphnath-Paaneah by the pharaoh and given an Egyptian wife, a woman whose father was both a priest and prince; the worship of a single divine power, that the Hebrews practiced, appealed to the pharaoh and he banned the worship of all other gods to the Egyptians in favor of the power that created the sun, allowing the Hebrews to worship their all-powerful divinity that had brought them such good fortune. Of course, the pharaoh of that day was hated by the priests of the old gods, and since his death his name has been forbidden to utter. My father and mother were members of the cult of the sun, Aten, and for that reason they were butchered whilst I and my sisters hid in fear. Perhaps it is in my blood to disobey the teachings of the many gods and goddesses, perhaps my parents were right in their convictions that only one god ruled above all, and that the pharaoh was just as much a servant to this being as any other. Nonetheless, my parents' spirits surely wept as their children became worshippers of the gods that they had rejected. But now, in this new Egypt, I saw no offerings before the statues of the gods, no one bowing down in reverence; in fact, the statues of sacred deities were old and decrepit and quite often broken, I saw children playing on some of them which would have been a crime punishable by death in my time, there were old men who congregated beneath the statues for shade so they could converse and use some sort of contraption that my servant referred to as "_Hookahs_" that created smoke for whatever purpose such a thing was useful for.

There were many foreigners like the ones I had seen at Hamunaptra, many of them pale-skinned and a number with fair-hair. Egypt had always had many dealings with foreigners, though we considered them to be barbarians as none were as advanced as our people. My servant Beni explained as best he could in Hebrew that these foreigners came from the North and West, and referred to each group by the name of their land; "_English_" was the predominant group and "_American_", I could tell that both races were kindred to each other as they were both similar in language and attire. These pale-skinned foreigners were from lands that Egypt had not reached in my day; the "_French_", "_Greek_", "_English_", and most others were from a continent outside Africa called "_Europe_", though the "_Americans_" came from a continent across the great Western ocean that the people of "_Europe_" had conquered centuries before my rebirth. These people were very bizarre, much stranger than the new Egyptians, particularly in their dress and customs, but I will not think more on that for the moment, as I have a task at hand.

* * *

The one called Beni led me to a large fortress that seemed to be a central location for many of the "_English_" warriors in their strange battle-robes and their new weapons that shoot fire. Wherever we went, there were horrible plagues that followed us, bringing havoc upon the populace. We made our way into a hall that led to different chambers in what seemed to be a residential part of the fortress, undoubtedly where important people lived for their protection. We were met outside the door of one chamber, that I sensed was the hiding place of one of the cursed men, by a young girl. I recognized her as the little girl from Hamunaptra; it made me wonder why she was there in the first place. The child was clothed in a plain white dress and was holding a tray that bore an oddly shaped pot and cups. She glared at my servant and spoke to him in the language of the "_English_"; I could tell she was not pleased to see him. This child clearly was not intimidated by us, as she spat on the shoes of my servant, though she allowed us entrance to the room. She set the tray she carried down on a low table, then moved to stand next to the man I knew to be the one I had taken the tongue and eyes of. Beni said something to the child that made her glare at him again; I wondered what he had done to earn such spite from such a young person. But, at what Beni had said, the child left, giving what I assumed was a farewell to the man who sat before me.

The man tried to greet me, but I drew away as human touch would cause me to deteriorate. Beni began to speak to the man, at first the man looked unconcerned, but his face soon bore a look of fear as Beni continued to speak. I pulled back the mask I wore and the man raised his hands, probably begging for his life. I noticed Beni had fled the room, not wanting to witness what would occur. I felt the life force being ripped from the screaming man, as it connected to my own body. I felt powerful, strong, and undefeatable. I felt chunks of flesh return to me, my body becoming more like it had once been, though still a long way from being fully restored. As this first step was completed, I turned and saw the leader of these tomb-robbers and the woman I had chosen as my sacrifice. The leader tried to attack me, but I grabbed him and threw him against the others. I turned to my sacrifice, who was being shielded by my two sisters. The whole situation made me laugh.

"Protecting me rescuer, sisters?" I asked. "She saved me from the undead. I wish to thank her."

I leaned forward to kiss the woman who had saved me and would be the one to bring back my beloved, when I heard a noise behind me. I turned, and there I saw another one of those accursed cats. The creature was standing on some sort of device that I took to be a musical instrument due to the noise it made when the animal touched it. I had no choice but to flee once more in a whirlwind of sand.

* * *

After I had left that room at the fortress, I found my servant Beni, and ordered him to locate the Book of the Dead. I then went on the search for the other men who had opened the chest. I had once more donned a black cloak, but I had left the mask back at the fortress. I wandered more through the city, until I came to a large building with two pharaoh statues guarding the front. I detected the presence of two of the cursed ones inside, but I knew I was not powerful enough yet to take the life from both at once, and I knew there was one more who was wandering alone and unprotected. I was distracted from my thoughts, when I looked into the window of this structure, a curious thing that many windows are now shielded by perfectly clear glass, and beheld a sight that filled me with rage. It was Netikerty; she was standing inside the structure in a room filled with documents and scrolls of all kinds, but she was not alone.

In there with her, was a Medjai. The two were conversing and I could detect smiles on their faces. A filthy Medjai dared to lift his unworthy eyes to behold my sister? How dare he. He was not even deserving enough to be in her presence, and yet he was speaking to her in such an informal manner. I realized then who that Medjai was. Oh, yes, I knew him, in my lifetime. He was the one who had bewitched the heart of my Lotus, my sweet Netikerty. I remember all the times she looked at him with longing, but he never seemed to acknowledge her, no matter how often she had tried to speak with him. I also remember the last time I saw him; he was one of the two Medjai who restrained me as my sisters were put to death. And now the fool spoke freely with my sister? He even dared to hold her hand as she descended from a ladder that was attached to one of the shelves that held all those documents. I knew my precious younger sister might be angry with me when I would have to kill this man, but she is so young and innocent she does not realize that such a man as this would only bring her pain as he had done in the past, I would not, _could not_, allow that to happen to her again. This man would surely need to die, and Netikerty would come to understand in time. I fought my desire to simply charge into that room and kill that man with my bare hands. I needed to find the other cursed one, the one who possessed the Book of the Dead.

I found him easily enough, a cowardly little man who screamed in agony as I sucked the flesh and blood from his body. I felt no remorse for killing a thief like this; he brought about his own destruction. I lifted up the sacred jar that was dedicated to the god Hapi, and as I turned I looked up and saw two of the tomb-robbers, one of whom I recognized as the one who challenged me. I summoned the power within me and from my mouth swarmed millions of biting flies. The two men managed to withdraw into the building before the flies reached them, slamming a wooden shutter closed to keep them safe from the insects. I then walked, unbothered by the flies, towards the fortress.

* * *

I arrived outside a window to the room where one of the tomb-robbers was waiting. He looked as though he was left there to guard something, and my gaze shifted to the large doors, behind which I sensed two of the women I had been searching for. I sent in a gust of air to frighten the man, and when he started to turn away, possibly attributing it to the wind, I rushed in and drained him of every ounce of his life-force. I felt nearly whole, I only needed one more life and I would be brought to my full power.

As I turned to face the door, something caught my eye. By the wall near the door there was a table, with small, square and rectangular things on it. I recollected that my servant Beni had referred to such things as "_Photographs_". They were small, life-like images, except they lacked color; they were set behind clear glass, like what these modern people did with windows, and were framed in polished wood. I moved closer to look at these "_Photographs_" and immediately recognized the two women who were in most of them. My dear sisters were immortalized in these images, precious moments from this new life they had lived. I noticed one was of Sitre-meramun and a man I did not recognize, the man was standing behind her with his arms wrapped around her waist in a loving way, my Cobra was clad in a white dress that had clearly been billowing in the wind but was now motionlessly captured in this image. Who was the man? Why did he hold my sister in such a way? Then I remembered the child I had seen, and a thought occurred. Had my sister been married and had a child? I looked over the other images, and sure enough I found one of my sister and that same man standing side-by-side and both jointly cradling a small, white bundle that was clearly a baby. After all this time, my Cobra had the one thing she had longed for but been denied, a child. In our time, she had been forced to abandon all desire to marry and have children; such was the oath of a priestess of Wadjet. I remembered how, on the night before she was officiated into the cult, she wept bitterly; it had been the first time I had seen her weep since the death of our parents. But then, where was this man? Why had I not seen him with the others? Surely he would not have abandoned his wife and child. Then I thought, perhaps some ill befell him. My poor Cobra, of all the people in the world, you are the most deserving of happiness, and the cruel gods have denied you that.

I looked over more of the pictures, the lifeless memories of my reborn sisters. There were images of the two of them with the girl child I recognized, she does bear a great resemblance to her mother though I can see much of the man in her as well. I noticed in one picture, my two sisters were standing on either side of the man I believe to be the leader of the tomb-robbers. What was the nature of his association with my sisters? Why are the three of them so happy in this image? It filled me with sadness to think that my sisters had lived happy and peaceful lives without me, their brother, but I could not begrudge them happiness, they deserved it more than anyone.

I finally tore myself away from the rows of "_Photographs_", and returned my attention to the door. I turned myself into sand and entered through the lock. These men had been holding my sister a hostage in her own home? I could understand why they would keep my sacrifice locked in, to prevent her from being taken by me, but my Sitre-meramun was not in danger at all, I knew she was fully capable of protecting herself and others, just as she had done for us when we were living on the streets. I returned to my human form and moved quietly over to the bed where my sacrifice and my sister were sleeping. I saw that Sitre-meramun was holding her daughter close to her, her arms wrapped around the girl as though she were terrified that someone would come and steal her greatest treasure from her. Dearest Cobra, always the great protector, I promise you that your child shall never meet with harm. I brushed my hand over my Cobra's hair as she slept, brushing a few loose strands away from her face. I then turned my attention to my sacrifice, I imagined that she was my beloved Anck-sun-amun and kissed her. I sensed her jolt awake, her screams muffled by my rapidly deteriorating lips. The woman's struggling caused the child to awaken and scream. Her mother woke up instantly and clutched her, trying to defend the helpless girl while simultaneously attempting to shove me away. Suddenly, the door burst open, and there was the leader of the tomb-robbers and two of his remaining accomplices. The man shouted something at me, and I could guess from his tone that it was a warning to leave the women and child alone. I advanced on the man, cautioning him not to challenge me again, when he suddenly held up that accursed cat. The creature hissed at me, its eyes glowing with malice, and I fled once more.

* * *

I returned to the structure where I had seen Netikerty with that Medjai, I knew this building held some sort of importance and that they would all meet there. With me, I brought an army of men and women who had fallen under my power by a plague that had caused their skin to become blistered and deformed with boils. It was sickening, but I knew I would need their help in capturing the final cursed one and collecting my sacrifice. I led my army to the building, and immediately sensed the cursed one within it. My slaves charged at the door, attempting to break it down. Finally, they opened it and rushed inside to fulfill my orders. As I followed them in, I looked around; the building was filled with the treasures and remains of centuries of Egyptian history. I felt anger inside of me; sacred tombs had been disturbed so that men could hoard them and stuff them onto shelves? When I rule the world, I vowed, I would place these sacred objects back into the earth where they belonged. When I had ascended the stairway that led to the floor above, I saw that those I sought were not there; just then, I heard a shout and looked out the large window to see my servant Beni calling me and pointing after them as they attempted to escape.

My slaves managed to corner the last of the cursed men. He dropped his metal weapons, which had run out of their fire, and held up the sacred jar he possessed, hoping that I would take it and be appeased. I took it, and then I took his life. At last, I was whole! Nothing could stop me from my goals now. I followed my slaves to where those who remained were trapped. I approached and my servant Beni translated to them what I said. As my sisters moved to block my path to my sacrifice I told them that I would never harm them, but I did not wish for them to interfere. The woman I had chosen as my sacrifice seemed to be asking the leader of their group what to do, but he did not appear to have a solution. The woman cast one last look to the man before she took the hand I offered to her. The man was not pleased and raised his insignificant weapon to try and threaten me, but the woman stopped him. The Medjai I had seen with Netikerty was also among them, he was restraining the other man who looked as if he wished to charge at me. I looked at the others in this little gathering. There were two other men, an old man that I recognized as yet another of the Medjai swine, and another man who was one of the tomb-robbers. The man I knew to be one of the tomb-robbers was standing in front of the little girl that meant so much to my older sister, was he some sort of protector for the child? I did not know and it did not matter, he was expendable. When the leader at last lowered his weapon, he looked me in the eyes and spoke as he gestured the torch he held towards me. I did not know his words, but I took them to mean that he would meet with me once more. I turned and led my sacrifice away. I had not asked for my sisters to follow because I knew that they would find me all the same. It pained me that I would have to take the life of their friends, but it must be done. I gave out one last order to my slaves.

"Kill the men!" The woman instantly began to struggle.

* * *

My sacrifice, my servant, and I arrived at Hamunaptra at midday. They did not have the good fortune of landing upright as I brought the whirlwind of sand to a halt. I noticed the woman hitting my servant Beni in order to get him away from her, even though I doubt he landed on her purposefully. As I looked towards the city, I heard a strange noise in the sky and looked up. There, soaring through the sky, was another of those new contraptions, and I knew exactly who was on it. I sensed the presence of my sisters and the child, and instantly put a protective charm over them so they would not perish from what I was about to do. I summoned my power and brought forth a mighty wall of sand that I sent hurtling towards the flying machine. I focused all my attention on having the sand wall devour the machine, so that I did not notice that the woman had come over to me and kissed me. I was confused and shocked, and when she pulled away smiling I knew she had another motive for what she had done. I turned around and saw that my moment of distraction had caused the sand wall to vanish; however, the flying machine looked as though it had sustained heavy damage and crashed. I knew my protective charm would keep my sisters and the child safe; and even had I not done so, my sisters possessed powerful magic within them that would have kept them safe anyway. I turned and led my two companions to the temple.

I ignored whatever words passed between the woman and my servant, choosing to direct my attention to the preparation for the ritual that would bring back my Anck-sun-amun and grant me my full power. That was when I heard a loud noise that I recognized as a shot from one of those modern weapons. I heard the woman say something that sounded like "_O khonel_"; I supposed that must be the name of that man who had tried to stop me. I poured some of the dust from one of the sacred jars onto my hand and blew it at the images on the wall and spoke the incantation to summon forth my priests. The two figures on the wall gave way and my two most trusted priests appeared from where they had been buried within the wall. They approached me and bowed.

"Kill the men. Wake the others. And take the women to the Well of Souls." I ordered, and they immediately obeyed.

I blew more of the dust into the face of my sacrifice, causing her to fall unconscious. I told my servant that he was free and was permitted to take any treasure from the vault that he wished, he did not hesitate to depart. Soon, my other priests arrived and we were able to begin the ceremony. When the woman awoke, she let out a scream when she saw the mummified body of my beloved lying beside her on the altar. I raised the ceremonial dagger.

"With your death Anck-sun-amun shall live. And I shall be invincible!"

I was stopped right before I plunged the dagger into my sacrifice when I saw one of the men and the child with the Book of Amun-Ra. That book, it was the only thing that could stop me; I needed to take it from that man. I set down the dagger and began to advance, when I heard the sound of combat behind me. I turned and there was that man "_O khonel_" fighting my priests and Sitre-meramun who ran over to my sacrifice attempting to free her. I ordered my priests to kill the man. The man was seized by two of my priests, when I noticed that Sitre-meramun had stopped in her attempt to free the other woman; she raised her right hand towards my priests and they retreated. Her powers were returning? How was this possible if she did not know who she was? My Cobra had been very powerful in all aspects of magic, though her eyes could not see the written word and she had to rely upon carved writing and the words of the high priestess who taught her. The man "_O khonel_" was freed from the grasp of my priests, and was about to release the woman on the altar, when he was grabbed and held down by another of the priests. "_O khonel_" was about to be killed by one of my priests who had picked up a large stone slab and was about to crush him, when Sitre-meramun picked up the sword that the man had dropped and swung it at the priest with the slab and then at the one who held the man down. "_O khonel_" then released my sacrifice, but I heard the sound of someone reading one of the inscriptions on the Book of Amun-Ra. I saw it was that other man, but the fool had not finished the spell, so the soldiers he summoned would follow my orders. I ordered them to kill "_O khonel_" and then I set of in pursuit of the one with the book, as he had been moving about throughout the battle. I eventually cornered him, no sooner was I about to take in victory than the man finished the inscription right before my soldiers could kill "_O khonel_", I tried once more to order them to kill him but they paid me no heed. Then I heard the other man order the unthinkable.

"Destroy Anck-sun-amun!" He shouted.

I shouted out to her to warn her, and then I rounded on the one with the book. Then, I heard her screams, a sound that will forever haunt me. I turned to the man, enraged. If my beloved had to die, then so did he.

"Now **you** die!" I told him as he dropped the book. I grabbed him by his throat and lifted him up, when "_O khonel_" ran over and sliced off my arm. I felt no pain from it, but I was annoyed with him. It was time that pest learned not to meddle with my plans ever again. I threw him backwards and then picked up and reattached my arm. I was going to end this now. I had him by the throat and began to squeeze.

"Now, it's your turn." I said to him.

But, just as I was about to finish him once and for all, I heard the incantation I dreaded most. I looked in horror to see the woman I was to have sacrificed reading from the book. As she ended the spell, the god Anubis came in his chariot and snatched my immortal soul. I tried to pursue, but both the god and my soul departed back into the Underworld. All my plans, ruined, I was more than enraged, I wanted blood for this. I turned back to the man and was about to seize him once more, when I felt a sharp pain in my stomach. The man's sword had run me through, I was dying once again. He withdrew the blade and I clutched at the wound, backing into the black waters of the Underworld. I could feel my flesh dying yet again, returning once more to a corpse. As I sank into the water, with all the souls that dwelt within surrounding me, I looked at my older sister, my dear Cobra, hoping would have some pity in her eyes, but her brown eyes were cold and hateful, even now she did not forgive me. My dear sisters, I wish you both happiness, and I know we shall see each other once more, for…

"Death is only the beginning."

**Finally! It is completely finished, until the sequel which I will probably start in a few months I guess, maybe sooner. Hope you all liked my story, please review, I gladly look forward to any comments you have, as long as they're not offensive. Thank you for your patience and goodbye.**


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